A friend accused of being involved in Aaron Hernandez’s murder case is reportedly now cooperating with police in the of Odin L. Lloyd murder investigation.
According to the Boston Herald, court documents obtained Wednesday show that Carlos Ortiz — who authorities say was with Hernandez when the Lloyd was executed in North Attleboro on June 17 — has flipped on his friend.
Carlos Ortiz, a reported friend from Hernandez’s hometown of Bristol, Conn., talked to state troopers in Connecticut last week and gave them the location of a “a secret crash pad” in Franklin leased by Hernandez.
“Ortiz did confirm that he was with Aaron Hernandez on the night in question,” state trooper Michael Bates wrote in an affidavit filed in Wrentham District Court. “Ortiz then went on to explain that Hernandez has another address that not many people know about. Ortiz referred to this location as an apartment-style location, commonly referred to as a ‘flop house.’?”
“If it is in fact shown that he was in the car leading up to and during the killing, then that type of witness would be huge,” Gerard T. Leone, a former Middlesex District Attorney not connected with the case. “From a defense perspective, it’s obviously damaging. But the prosecution will need as much corroborating evidence as possible.”
A search of the condo turned up a white hooded sweatshirt “consistent in color and type with the sweatshirt that Hernandez is observed to be wearing on surveillance cameras the night of the homicide,” the affidavit states. A cranberry-colored baseball cap was found and both items are believed to be what Hernandez was wearing when he was last seen with Lloyd at a nightclub.
Hernandez’s pal Ortiz was arrested in Connecticut last week on weapons charges related to the murder. If his cooperation proves helpful, he will likely be offered a deal for lesser time in exchange for his testimony.
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