Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is being kept away from other inmates for the sake of his safety while he is in jail, Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson told NFL Network and NFL.com on Monday.
Hernandez is charged with first-degree murder as well as several weapons violations in the death of Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-pro football player from the Boston area. Hernandez is being held without bail at the Bristol County House of Correction and Jail in North Dartmouth, Mass., while awaiting a probable cause hearing on July 24.
The sheriff described the ways Hernandez has been kept separate from the other inmates. For the first five days, Hernandez was in the medical ward, where he stayed for 23 hours a day.
On Monday, authorities held a "classification review" and decided to move Hernandez to "phase two." That means he will spend most of his day in a small, single cell except for three hours: one in the shower area, one in the exercise yard and one in the common area/commissary.
No other inmates are allowed in the same area when Hernandez is there, Hodgson said, who added that Hernandez's "phase two" status will be reviewed again next week.
Also on Monday, a third man connected to the same investigation as Hernandez appeared in a Broward County (Fla.) courtroom, where he waived the right to contest his return to Massachusetts. Ernest "Bo Fish" Wallace, 41, will be charged with accessory to murder after the fact in Lloyd's death, the Bristol County District Attorney's Office said.
A third man, 27-year-old Carlos Ortiz, is charged with possessing a weapon without a license as part of the Lloyd case. Ortiz already has been returned to Massachusetts.
