Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was found not guilty of murder stemming from the 2012 drive-by shootings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado.Ben Volin of the Boston Globe first reported the news. Tim Caputo of 7News Boston WHDH showcased Hernandez's reaction to the verdict:According to theBoston Globe'sTravis Andersen, Hernandez was formally charged with two counts of murder following a drive-by shooting that left de Abreu and Furtado dead. Hernandez was also reportedly charged with shooting Alexander Bradley "in an effort to silence" him about the killings, per Andersen.Bradley, who survived, was reportedly driving the car the night the drive-by shootings occurred."The Commonwealth alleges that Hernandez grew enraged after de Abreu spilled a drink on him earlier in a nightclub," Yahoo Sports'Dan Wetzelwrote. "Unable to let such a sign of disrespect go, the Commonwealth arguedthat Hernandez later hunted de Abreu and his party down at closing time and ordered Bradley to drive up on their car."Bradley was later called as the prosecution's star witness. However, defense attorneyJose Baez referred to the testimony as a "deal with the devil" after Bradley agreed to testify in exchange for immunity, perWetzel."They are handing out immunity in this case like its Halloween," Baez said during closing arguments, per Wetzel. "Mr. Haggan is the next Oprah Winfrey: 'Youve got immunity, you've got immunity, we've all got immunity. Thats not how you build a case. Youre not the Oprah Winfrey of immunity."As it turns out, the defense's argumentswhich also alleged that Bradley was the killer, per Wetzelseem to have been persuasive enough in the jury's eyes to produce a not guilty verdict.However, Hernandez will still spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole despite avoiding a guilty verdictFridaydue to his previous conviction forthe murder of former semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd in June 2013.
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