New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is dealing with more than one legal problem. Just one day after law enforcement was at Hernandez's Massachusetts home in connection to a homicide investigation, news emerged of a civil lawsuit filed against Hernandez in Florida.
NFL.com obtained a copy of the complaint filed June 13 in a federal court in South Florida. The complaint alleges that, on Feb. 13, Hernandez and Alexander S. Bradley got in an argument while at Tootsie's Cabaret, a strip club in Miami-Dade County. The complaint said that later, while driving toward Palm Beach County, a gun in Hernandez's possession discharged, hitting Bradley.
The lawsuit alleges that the shooting caused Bradley to lose his right eye, among other injuries. The complaint also stated that Hernandez's gun was not properly licensed.
The case was voluntarily withdrawn on June 17, but a new complaint was filed Wednesday, June 19, in federal court. The new complaint outlined the same events involving Hernandez and a gun. The new document was done to correct an error in the first filing, Bradley's lawyer said.
NFL.com also obtained an offense report from the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office that appears to be related to the day in question. That day, shortly after 6:45 a.m., a man identified by deputies as Bradley Alexander Sherrod, 30, of Hartford, Conn., was found on the ground close to a John Deere landscaping business near Riviera Beach.
He appeared to be shot in the head and the hand, the report stated. The man repeatedly said at the time he did not know who shot him, the report said, but the wounds were not self-inflicted.
The man wasn't cooperative, and told one investigator he didn't want the case to go any further.
"I explained that without his cooperation, the investigation would cease," one deputy wrote. "He understood."
The case is inactive, according to the report.
Lawyers for Hernandez declined to comment.
This civil lawsuit adds a layer of confusion to the separate investigation of a homicide in Massachusetts. The death being investigated involves a body found about 5:30 p.m. Monday in North Attleboro, according to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office.
The state police told The Boston Globe on Thursday that no arrest of Hernandez is imminent in the homicide case. Hernandez was not believed to be a suspect, but a rental vehicle connected to Hernandez appeared to be a key piece of evidence. The website said authorities had spoken with Hernandez.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
