Aaron Hernandez Accomplice Carlos Ortiz Pleads Guilty in Odin Lloyd Killing
Aaron Hernandez associate Carlos Ortiz will spend up to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from the 2013 execution styled killing of Odin Lloyd.
Ortiz entered his plea on Monday, June 27, during in an appearance before Judge Thomas Quinn in Bristol Superior Court. He was originally hit with first-degree murder and accessory after the fact charges, but the plea deal he struck with prosecutors called for him to accept culpability for a lesser offense.
Hernandez Gets Life Sentence
Lloyd's bullet-riddled body was found in an industrial park not far from Hernandez's North Attleborough mansion is summer of 2013. Almost two-years later, the former NFL star was convicted as the trigger-man and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
A third man, 44-year-old Ernest Wallace, was recently acquitted of murder in connection with the case, but was found guilty of accessory after the fact charges and sentenced to up to seven years behind bars.
In surveillance video captured on Hernandez's home security system from the night in question, Ortiz is seen with what appears to be a gun. As far back as in 2013, he was rumored to be cooperating with investigators working the case.
Hernandez is thought to have turned on Lloyd over growing concerns he knew too much about other violent crimes the former NFL star is suspected of having been involved in.
Hernandez Facing Trial on Double Murder Charges
The former New England Patriots tight end faces an upcoming trial on double murder charges. Prosecutors allege Hernandez gunned down Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado outside a downtown Boston nightclub after one of them accidentally spilled a drink on him earlier in the evening and failed to apologize.
The 26-year-old Hernandez has pleaded not guilty in the case and a trial date in Suffolk Superior Court is still pending.
Hernandez is now being held at the Souza -Baranowski maximum security prison.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com