The Massachusetts State Police searched Aaron Hernandez's Franklin, Mass., apartment on June 26 and found numerous boxes of firearm ammunition, along with a hooded white sweatshirt possibly worn by the former New England Patriots tight end on the night of Odin Lloyd's death, according to documents obtained Wednesday by NFL.com and NFL Network.
Hernandez has been charged with first-degree murder in Lloyd's slaying.
The documents, obtained from the Wrentham District Court, indicate authorities recovered videotape from multiple security cameras that show Hernandez and two associates, Ernest "Bo Fish" Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, picking up Lloyd at his home on June 17. Tapes then indicate that the group drove to the industrial park location where Lloyd's body was discovered later that day, near Hernandez's North Attleborough, Mass., house.
"This sweatshirt is consistent in color and type with the sweatshirt that Hernandez is observed to be wearing on surveillance cameras the night of the homicide," the State Police wrote in an affidavit, later adding that they also recovered a cranberry-colored hat: "The baseball hat could help provide whereabouts of Hernandez on the Friday night before the homicide. This night in particular is a critical aspect in the timeline of events leading up to the homicide."
The search of Hernandez's Franklin apartment, of which police evidently were unaware until Ortiz told them about it, also yielded five boxes of .45-caliber ammunition. This was the caliber of bullet used to kill Lloyd. Police also found keys to a Hummer H2 in the apartment, and a search of that vehicle, which was registered to Hernandez, turned up a loaded Glock .45-caliber clip.
In other Hernandez news Wednesday, the Gainesville (Fla.) Police Department released a 2007 incident report from a double shooting in which several University of Florida football players, including Hernandez, were mentioned. The report was not released intentionally.
"It has come to our attention that the incident report for GPD Case 02-07-20053 was released inadvertently," the police said in a statement. "This information was just discovered after our most recent press release was issued.
"A public records request was made by ESPN and fulfilled in error by a clerk. Since the report was already made a public record pursuant to a request by ESPN, it is now available for download on GPD's website."
In a previous statement, the Gainesville Police Department directly denied a report that it has been contacted by authorities in Massachusetts about the incident.
The 2007 incident took place when Hernandez was a 17-year-old freshman at Florida. Two men were wounded in the incident, including one who was shot in the back of the head. The police report, which redacts Hernandez's name, indicates that the two victims in the case were shot after leaving a nightclub.
An eyewitness in the back seat of the car, Randall Cason, said there were two shooters, including a "Hawaiian" or "Hispanic" with a muscular build.
"It should be noted that this incident report is not complete," the Gainesville Police Department said in a statement. "There are still detective supplements outstanding because it is classified as an open criminal investigation. While this report is now publicly available, the Gainesville Police Department will not offer any further comment due to the ongoing criminal investigation."
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
