3rd Hernandez case suspect charged
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Connecticut man implicated in NFL star Aaron Hernandez’s murder case is in custody in the Broward County Main Jail and was ordered held without bond Saturday during his first-appearance court hearing.
Ernest Wallace, 41, was charged with accessory after the fact to a murder that the former New England Patriots player is charged with committing.
Wallace, who was sought by Massachusetts State Police and was considered armed and dangerous, walked into the lobby of the Miramar Police Department on Friday afternoon and peacefully surrendered. He is the third suspect in the high-profile case.
His Boston-based attorney, David Meier, on Saturday would not discuss the relationship between Wallace and Hernandez nor the alleged role Wallace played in the June 17 murder of Odin Lloyd.
“It’s his intention to waive rendition proceedings and to return to Massachusetts,” Meier said. “He will be brought before a judge in Massachusetts and formally arraigned on the single charge.”
Wallace regularly visits his elderly parents and other relatives in Miramar, the attorney said.
Upon learning he had a warrant for his arrest, Wallace surrendered himself, Meier said.
Wallace was held in an interview room under guard by several officers Friday until he was later transferred to the Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale.
Hernandez, 23, a standout tight end during his days playing football at the University of Florida, has had a legacy of trouble and has been linked to guns, fights and drugs. He recently has been sued for shooting a man after an argument at a South Florida strip club in February.
Wallace is charged with being one of two men who were with Hernandez during the slaying of Lloyd. Police did not outline in detail how Wallace served as an accessory in the killing
he other suspected ac- complice, Carlos Ortiz, 27, was arrested in his home state of Connecticut on charges of being a fugitive from justice. He was extradited to Massachusetts.
Hernandez faces a firstdegree murder count for the death of Lloyd, 27, a semi-pro football player who was dating Shaneah Jenkins, the sister of Hernandez’s longtime girlfriend, Shayanna Jenkins.
Lloyd’s body was found in an industrial park about a half mile from Hernandez’s North Attleboro, Mass., home.
A Massachusetts prosecutor described the slaying as an “orchestrated execution.” Hernandez, who has pleaded not guilty, faces life in prison if convicted. He’s being held without bail.
Investigators l i nked Hernandez to the murder through spent .45-caliber shell casings found in a car he was connected to. He was also spotted on a surveillance video the night of Lloyd’s death, before and after the killing, holding a .45-caliber Glock pistol — the suspected murder weapon which has never been found.
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Colts safety arrested on weapons charge: Police say Indianapolis Colts safety Joe Lefeged has been arrested on gun-related charges after a traffic stop in Washington.
D.C. police spokesman Araz Alali says Lefeged was a passenger in a car that fled from police after a traffic stop for speeding early Saturday morning.
Court records show police smelled marijuana in the car and found an open container of alcohol and semi-automatic pistol underneath the front passenger seat.
Lefeged and another passenger face charges including carrying a pistol without a license and possession of an unregistered firearm and ammunition. Alali says the driver fled.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday morning.
Lefeged, who grew up in suburban Washington, is entering his third NFL season. Spokesman Avis Roper said that as of Saturday afternoon, the Colts had no comment.