A man who sued Aaron Hernandez over being shot in the face in Florida has taken the stand in the former New England Patriots player’s murder trial.
A man who sued Aaron Hernandez over being shot in the face in Florida has taken the stand in the former New England Patriots player's murder trial.
But prosecutors are not allowed to ask Alexander Bradley about the shooting, which happened a few months before the June 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd. The defense unsuccessfully tried to block Bradley's testimony.
Bradley took the stand around 10:45 a.m. Wednesday. He spoke of how he first met Hernandez in 2010 when Hernandez was finishing college and preparing to enter the National Football League. He said their relationship was initially a "business relationship," with Hernandez calling him once or twice a week to purchase between $300 to $1,300 worth of marijuana.
He said they later became friends and would often "chain smoke" marijuana and play video games.
Bradley also testified that he saw a small black lock box in Hernandez's basement. Inside the box, he said there was a firearm, cash and marijuana joints. Hernandez's fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins, testified earlier this week that she disposed of a box that was kept in the basement at Hernandez's request after Lloyd's murder. Prosecutors have alleged that the box might have contained the gun used to kill Lloyd.
He also said he saw Hernandez handle a black firearm that appeared to be a glock while in Miami with him in February of 2013.
Earlier in the morning, Bradley took the stand without the jury present so the judge could determine which questions should be allowed. He spoke of how he would bring Hernandez marijuana, service his vehicle, and even do shopping for him.
"That's what our relationship was at the beginning," he said of the marijuana.
Bradley also said that Hernandez talked frequently about the fact that he had a hard time trusting people, and often mentioned that he thought he was being followed by helicopter or police.
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"He didn't want me to use iPhones around him because he stated that all conversations could be heard at any time through iPhones," he said, something Hernandez said he was told at a Patriots team meeting.
The defense team argued that this testimony shouldn't be allowed. The judge decided to allow Bradley to testify about Hernandez's trust issues, but not about the iPhones or believing he was being tailed.
Hernandez has pleaded not guilty in Lloyd's killing. Lloyd was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee.
Bradley says he got into an argument with Hernandez after leaving a Florida strip club in February 2013 and was shot between the eyes.
