(NECN: Alysha Palumbo) - Aaron Hernandez's legal troubles continue to mount, as the former Patriots star who's charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd was indicted Thursday on two new charges - assault and battery and threats to do bodily harm.
These charges stem from an alleged altercation with another inmate inside the Bristol County House of Correction on Feb. 25 and threats Hernandez allegedly made while in custody back on Nov. 1.
"I think they certainly are not going to cut any slack for Aaron Hernandez and so they want to be clear if he steps over the line, they are going to come down on him," said NECN legal analyst Randy Chapman.
Chapman says it's unusual to bring misdemeanor charges like these against an inmate facing much more serious murder charges.
"As a rule these charges oftentimes when it involves a scuffle at the jail are never brought, they're dealt with internally in the jail with punishment, isolation or some kind of restriction within the facility itself," he said.
In fact, Hernandez was already moved to a more restrictive location in the jail for 30 days after the alleged brawl, spending 23 hours a day in this cell marked "EE" and having to be in handcuffs and leg irons during his one hour of recreation a day.
Chapman says likely the main reason these charges were brought before a grand jury was so the entire case could remain in superior court, instead of having to transfer Hernandez between there and district court.
"I don't think in the end it really is going to have any impact on the core charges that he's facing right now in terms of the murder it's certainly not going to affect the murder investigation that's going on in Suffolk County or the gun running charges that are being investigated so this is just really a blip on the screen if you will," he said.
Hernandez will be arraigned on these new charges in Fall River Superior Court.
Officials say that arraignment will likely take place on June 16, when he is already scheduled to be in court for the murder case.
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