Safiro Furtado
Carlos Ortiz
TROUBLE: Aaron Hernandez is denied bail yesterday (above) for a murder in which he allegedly had Carlos Ortiz (top inset) help out. The ex-Patriot is also being eyed in the killing of Safiro Furtado (bottom inset) and another man. (
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He could be the NFL’s first serial killer.
Murder suspect Aaron Hernandez is now being investigated for the unsolved drive-by slayings of two men in Boston last year, it was revealed yesterday.
Daniel Abreu, 29, and Safiro Furtado, 28, were gunned down in a BMW while stopped at a traffic light last July. Another man in the car was wounded.
Abreu and Furtado got into a nightclub brawl with Hernandez’s posse earlier that night, investigators suspect.
Authorities also believe Odin Lloyd, the man Hernandez is accused of fatally shooting on June 17, may have had information that linked the former New England Patriots star to those murders, according to the Boston Globe.
“The motive might have been that the victim knew [Hernandez] might have been involved,” an official told the paper.
Investigators believe Hernandez rented the SUV used in the shooting, CNN reported. The vehicle has since been impounded.
Meanwhile, a judge angrily denied bail to Hernandez, 23, for allegedly killing Lloyd with two men he called up from Connecticut for the job.
“This is not a first-degree-murder charge where the facts support perhaps some kind of combat or heat of passion,” said Bristol County Superior Court Judge Renee P. Dupuis.
“This gentleman — either by himself or with two other people that he requested come to the commonwealth — basically coldblooded, in a coldblooded fashion, killed a person because that person disrespected him,” she said, citing prosecution charges.
Another man was busted Wednesday as part of the Lloyd probe, it emerged yesterday.
Carlos Ortiz, 27, is being held on $1.5 million bond in Hartford. Conn., on charges of being a fugitive from justice.
‘HERNANDEZ-ING’ NOW A TWISTED TAKE ON TEBOW
He admitted to carrying a firearm in North Attleboro, Mass., on the day that Lloyd was killed, CNN reported.
And a third man was wanted last night in connection with Lloyd’s murder, reports said.
Ernest Wallace, 41, described as “armed and dangerous,” was wanted for accessory to murder after the fact, the Bristol County, Conn., district attorney said.
Prosecutors yesterday also revealed that an ammo clip for .45-caliber bullets — the type found near Lloyd’s body — was discovered in Hernandez’s Hummer at a condo he leases.
It was earlier alleged a shell casing matching those near the body was recovered in a silver Nissan Altima — rented in Hernandez’s name — that had been spotted at the crime scene.
Lloyd, 27, dated the sister of Hernandez’s fiancée. His murder followed a night out at the Boston nightclub Rumor, where Hernandez saw Lloyd chatting with men the gridder had been feuding with earlier, authorities have said.
The enraged tight end texted two pals to come to Massachusetts, prosecutors said. They picked up Lloyd after stopping at a store for rolling paper and Bubbilicious gum, and took him to the industrial park where he was shot five times, prosecutors charged.
The Altima was spotted pulling into the park, and nearby workers reporting hearing shots before the car left a few minutes later.
Surveillance video then showed Hernandez returning to his house with a pal — both with guns in their hands. His home-security system went dark for several hours after that, prosecutors said.
Hernandez’s fall follows years of troubles, which began with the death of his father when he was 16.
A high-school photo of Hernandez shows him dressed in red and flashing symbols reportedly affiliated with the Bristol Bloods street gang. He now has a hand tattoo of the word “blood.”
In a 2009 photo he took in a mirror, he held up a gun.
In February, he shot a Connecticut man in the face, according to a lawsuit filed last week.
And Hernandez reportedly failed several drugs tests while playing at the University of Florida — with God-fearing Tim Tebow as his quarterback.
Hernandez, who last year inked a $40 million contract extension, said at the time, “This is probably one of the best days of my life.”
Additional reporting by Laurel Babcock in Bristol, Conn.