Aaron Hernandez News Update: Alleged Odin Lloyd Killer Carlos Ortiz Considering Plea Deal
The last of Aaron Hernandez's alleged accomplices to face trial in the killing of Odin Lloyd is rumored to be considering a plea deal with prosecutors.
Court records show attorneys for Carlos Ortiz and Bristol County prosecutors have scheduled a change of plea hearing for June 27 in Fall River Superior Court. Two other status review hearings also scheduled for the month of June have already been canceled.
Ortiz's Attorney Confirms Talks
Ortiz's attorney, John J. Connors, recently confirmed that the two sides were negotiating a deal, but declined to reveal what charge his client might plead guilty to.
The 30-year-old Ortiz is scheduled to go to trial on Oct. 7, on murder and accessory to murder after the fact charges stemming from the June 2013 execution-style killing of Lloyd.
The 26-year-olf Hernandez has already been convicted as the trigger-man in the killing and is now serving a life without the possibility of parole sentence at the Souza-Baranowski maximum security prison.
Spurred by the former New England Patriots star, prosecutors said Hernandez and Lloyd were among three men who drove to Lloyd's home in Dorchester on the night in question and later shot him to death at point-blank range near the NFL star's North Attleborough mansion.
Earlier this year, 44-year-old Ernest Wallace was acquitted of murder charges, but was found guilty of accessory and is now serving an up to seven year sentence.
Lawyers have previously argued Ortiz was also "just along for the ride," and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when Lloyd was killed.
Court records indicate Ortiz once told prosecutors Hernandez was carrying a gun on the night Lloyd was killed, but later changed his story.
Hernandez Also Facing Double Murder Charges
Hernandez is also still awaiting trial in Boston on double murder charges. Prosecutors allege he fatally wounded Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in a 2012 drive-by shooting outside a downtown nightclub that was sparked after one of the men spilled a drink on him and failed to apologize.
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