Aaron Hernandez, once a star tight end for the New England Patriots and now a convicted murderer, has settled a lawsuit in Florida brought by a former friend who said Hernandez shot him in 2013 in a northern Palm Beach County industrial park.
In federal court documents filed late Friday — one day short of the shooting’s third anniversary — Bradley’s lawyers said they reached a settlement with Hernandez but did not disclose the details. Hernandez is currently serving a life sentence for a 2013 homicide in Boston.
Hernandez, the one-time University of Florida football standout, allegedly shot Alexander Bradley in the Center Industrial Park, in an unincorporated area between Riviera Beach and Palm Beach Gardens, on Feb. 13, 2013, while the two had come to the area on vacation.
Bradley claims he and Hernandez got into an argument at Tootsie’s Cabaret, a strip club in Miami Gardens, then drove to Palm Beach County. In the industrial park, east of Interstate 95 between Blue Heron and Northlake boulevards, Hernandez shot Bradley between the eyes and left him for dead, investigators say.
A man arriving to work during the early hours that day heard the shooting and called 911.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office closed the case because Bradley did not cooperate at the time.
Four months after the Palm Beach County shooting, Hernandez drove 27-year-old Odin Lloyd to an industrial park outside Boston and shot him five times, including twice in the chest. Bradley, who some news outlets reported is the unofficial godfather for Hernandez's daughter, testified in the Lloyd murder trial.
Bradley's lawyer at the time told The Palm Beach Post that the shootings were, "chillingly similar."
Bradley lost his right eye in the shooting and his face had to be reconstructed, according to court documents. He has difficulty eating and will require medical care and treatment for reoccurring issues.
Hernandez now faces a trial in the double homicide of Daniel Jorge Correia de Abreu, 29, and Safiro Teixeira Furtado, 28,who were found dead on July 16, 2012 in Boston's South End.
Bradley, who authorities say was with Hernandez when he fatally shot the two men, was granted immunity in that case. He is in Connecticut jail now on unrelated gun charges.
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