fb-pixelHernandez prosecutors want to bar mention of PCP use at trial - The Boston Globe Skip to main content

Hernandez prosecutors want to bar mention of PCP use at trial

Carlos Ortiz is reported to be an associate of former Patriot Aaron Hernandez, charged in the murder of Odin Lloyd.George Rizer For The Boston Globe

Lawyers for former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez may argue at his Bristol County murder trial that it was an alleged accomplice in a drug-induced state who killed Odin L. Lloyd, prosecutors said in a court filing this week.

Prosecutors have asked Bristol Superior Court Judge E. Susan Garsh to bar the testimony of an expert witness, Dr. David J. Greenblatt, who would testify about the effects of PCP use on the brain. In the motion filed Monday, prosecutors also asked Garsh to bar Hernandez’s lawyers from referencing Greenblatt, or his testimony, during opening statements, which are now scheduled for Thursday.

Advertisement



Hernandez, 25, has pleaded not guilty to murder and weapons charges in the June 2013 slaying of Lloyd, 27, of Dorchester, who was shot several times in an industrial park near the athlete’s North Attleborough home.

Two alleged accomplices, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, are also charged with Lloyd’s murder. They have pleaded not guilty and will be tried separately.

In making their request Monday, prosecutors referenced an earlier assertion by Greenblatt that using PCP can induce “violently assaultive behavior.”

Prosecutors also said there is evidence that Wallace and Ortiz used the drug between June 15 and June 16. Lloyd was killed early on the 17th.

“There is a reasonable basis for inferring that [Hernandez] intends to rely on Dr. Greenblatt’s testimony for the purpose of urging the jury to conclude that either Wallace or Ortiz, and not [Hernandez], killed Lloyd in a PCP-induced assaultive state,” prosecutors wrote.

John Connors, a lawyer for Ortiz, said in an e-mail that “the motion speaks for itself” and declined to comment further. Lawyers for Hernandez and Wallace could not be reached on Tuesday.

Authorities allege the three men picked up Lloyd at his Boston residence and drove him to the industrial yard, where he was shot in what prosecutors have described as an execution.

Advertisement



The government has also alleged that Hernandez orchestrated the killing and summoned Wallace and Ortiz from Connecticut on the night of the murder; but prosecutors have not said who they believe pulled the trigger.

The murder weapon has not been found.

Unless Hernandez’s lawyers can present evidence that Wallace or Ortiz had a violent outburst at the time of the murder, they “should not be permitted to present expert testimony as to the reason why that fictional outburst might have occurred,” the prosecution’s motion said.

State courts were closed on Tuesday because of the weather, and it was not clear when Garsh would rule on the motion from prosecutors, or other motions that are still pending ahead of the trial.

A jury of 13 women and five men was selected on Monday for the trial, and Garsh said that she planned to swear the jurors in on Thursday, unless she finds cause to dismiss any of them. Opening statements would begin after jurors take their oath.

After the Bristol County trial concludes, Hernandez faces another trial in Suffolk County, where he has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder in the shooting of two men in Boston’s South End in 2012.

Daniel Abreu, 28, and Safiro Furtado, 29, friends who worked together, were killed after a night at the Cure, a Theatre District nightclub, where they had a chance encounter with Hernandez, according to prosecutors.

That trial is scheduled to begin later this year.

Advertisement




Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.