The net may have gotten tighter around Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end who was arrested yesterday for the murder of Odin Lloyd. The New Britain State Attorney’s Office said Thursday morning that Carlos Ortiz of Bristol, Connecticut has now been arrested as a fugitive from justice in connection with the Aaron Hernandez murder investigation.
The Boston Herald quoted the office’s statement as saying :
“Since last week, the Bristol Police Department and the New Britain State’s Attorney’s office have, at the request of authorities in Massachusetts, been assisting in their investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding the homicide of Odin Lloyd.”
Aaron Hernandez is a former resident of Bristol.
A Washington Post report said that 27-year-old Carlos Ortiz is now being held on a $1.5 million bond at the Hartford Correctional Center in Connecticut.
Hernandez pled not guilty yesterday to the murder and guns violation charges . He himself is being held without bail, although his attorney intends to contest that.
But the prosecutors allege that they have detailed surveillance and other physical evidence that gives a blow-by-blow account of how Odin Lloyd was brought to the area where he was shot execution-style multiple times sometime in the early morning hours of June 17 in an industrial area around half a mile from Hernandez’s home. A full description of how District Attorney Bill McCauley has reconstructed the crime can be found here.
The Courant said that Ortiz has already appeared in court and agreed that he won’t fight extradition to Massachusetts . Ortiz has an extensive criminal history and was initially picked up on probation violation charges.
However, since the investigation is still underway, Connecticut and Massachusetts authorities wouldn’t comment on the specifics of what Carlos Ortiz may have done or witnessed that will help prosecutors make their case against Aaron Hernandez.