JUDGE

Hernandez Lawyer Attempts to Discredit Eyewitness

The defense attorney representing Aaron Hernandez spent Thursday in court trying to poke holes in the testimony of an eyewitness to the 2012 murders of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado.

The tense exchange came one day after Raychides Sanches described being with the victims when they were shot to death, allegedly at the hand of the then-Patriots tight end.

"He died in my hands," Sanches said of de Abreu Wednesday.

Prosecutors have accused Hernandez of gunning down de Abreu and Furtado after one of them bumped into him at Cure Lounge, a Boston nightclub, spilling his drink. He has pleaded not guilty.

Hernandez's defense team used Sanches' social media photos in attempt to connect both him and the killings to gangs instead of the defendant, but the judge would not allow it.

"You can't just throw things out there to simply smear a witness," Suffolk Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke said in response.

Sanches was able to continue his account after the tense cross-examination, testifying that the shooter's skin complexion matched Hernandez's.

Wednesday, Sanches said he was in the car with Aquilino Freire, who survived the shooting, as well as de Abreu and Furtado, when a silver SUV pulled up alongside them at a stoplight.

"The car came quick," he said. "They started shooting crazy."

Sanches' testimony was suspended just before 2 p.m. Wednesday after the defense filed an emergency motion seeking to reverse the judge's decision to allow into evidence audio recordings of statements made by Sanches about the shooter days after the killings.

The motion said the prosecution was "attempting to admit hearsay that it will argue fits the description of our client." The judge ultimately denied the motion.

Hernandez is already sentenced to spend life in prison without parole after being convicted of murdering semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd in 2013.

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