ATTLEBORO, Mass. -- A judge set bail Friday at $500,000 cash for a man prosecutors say was with Aaron Hernandez on the night the former New England Patriots player's friend was shot to death.
Ernest Wallace appeared in Attleboro District Court on a charge of being an accessory after the fact to murder in connection with Odin Lloyd's killing. Defense attorney David Meier had sought bail of $10,000, arguing Wallace wasn't a flight risk and wanted to return to his family in Florida.
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But prosecutors asked for $1 million bail, saying Wallace was at risk of fleeing and had a long criminal history that included drug convictions.
Meier wouldn't comment after court, including about whether his client expected to make bail. Wallace, who had previously pleaded not guilty, was taken back into custody following the hearing.
Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for Bristol County District Attorney Samuel Sutter, said after the hearing that prosecutors were pleased with the bail.
Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of Lloyd, a 27-year-old Boston semi-professional football player whose body was found June 17 in an industrial park about a mile from Hernandez's home. The two men were friends and Lloyd was dating the sister of Hernandez's girlfriend.
Friday's hearing followed the release of court documents a day earlier that included photos of Hernandez in his home, holding what authorities have said was a gun, both before and minutes after Lloyd's homicide. The photos came from Hernandez's home video surveillance system and are among evidence authorities have obtained with search warrants.
Authoities believe Lloyd was killed with a .45-caliber Glock, which they have said hasn't been recovered. Prosecutors have said that a gun Hernandez is seen holding in the home surveillance appears to be a Glock. Authorities recovered an ammunition clip for .45 caliber bullets in Hernandez's Hummer as well as ammunition of the same caliber inside a condo he rented in Franklin, Mass.
Prosecutors say Hernandez orchestrated Lloyd's killing because he was upset at him for talking to people Hernandez had problems with at a nightclub a few days earlier.
They say Hernandez and two associates, Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, drove with Lloyd to the North Attleborough industrial park. Authorities have not said who fired the shots, but documents filed in Florida portray the former Patriot as the triggerman. According to the records, Ortiz told police that Wallace said Hernandez fired the shots.
A probable cause hearing for Hernandez is scheduled for Aug. 22. However, a grand jury could indict him before that date. He will continue to be held without bail until then.
Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press
