Third Man Charged With Acting as Accessory in Hernandez Murder Case
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iStockphoto(MIRAMAR, Fla.) — The third man arrested in connection with the Aaron Hernandez murder case was being held without bail Saturday after he appeared in court in Florida to be arraigned on a charge of acting as an accessory after murder.
Ernest Wallace, 41, turned himself after his wanted poster was released Thursday night. He told police in Miramar, Fla., “that he saw his name in news reports and knew he had a warrant for his arrest,” according to an announcement from police.
Wallace was being held pending his return to Massachusetts to face charges.
It was unclear whether he would challenge extradition to Massachusetts, but state authorities there told ABC News there have been no arrangements made at this point to transport him.
Authorities confirmed that Wallace, along with Hernandez and Carlos Ortiz, of Bristol, Conn., who allegedly were there when 27-year-old Odin Lloyd was murdered, were all in custody.
Massachusetts prosecutors say that even though Lloyd, a semi-pro football player, was a friend of Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end allegedly murdered him on June 17.
In the days before the killing, authorities said, Hernandez and Lloyd had a dispute about people Lloyd was talking to at a nightclub. Then on June 17, Hernandez allegedly took Lloyd on a drive with two other people and shot him five times, execution-style. Lloyd first tried to fight, according to a gruesome description laid out in court Thursday, but he was no match for .45-caliber bullets.
Hernandez pled not guilty to the murder charge.
Ortiz, 27, also pled not guilty at his court appearance in North Attleboro, Mass. on Friday. He was ordered to be held without bail on weapons charges.
Prosecutors have not revealed much about the final dispute between Lloyd and Hernandez or details on the NFL star’s alleged motive in the killing.
Law-enforcement sources told ABC News that detectives are focusing on whether Lloyd was killed because of information he might have had concerning a July 2012 double homicide for which Hernandez is now being investigated.
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