An associate of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez pleaded not guilty while being arraigned on a new murder charge in the shooting death of a man last summer about a mile from Hernandez's Massachusetts home.
Ernest Wallace appeared in superior court in Fall River on Thursday afternoon and entered the plea.
A Bristol County grand jury returned separate indictments last month against Wallace and Carlos Ortiz in the June 2013 killing of 27-year-old semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd. Hernandez, a Bristol, Connecticut native, has pleaded not guilty to murder in the killing of Lloyd.
During the arraignment, Lloyd's family gasped when Wallace entered the not guilty plea, according to NECN.
Odin Lloyd's family gasped when Ernest Wallace firmly and loudly plead not guilty. @NECN — Kathryn Sotnik (@kathrynsotnik) May 15, 2014
Lloyd man was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee.
Wallace and Ortiz are both from Hernandez's hometown of Bristol. They have previously pleaded not guilty to accessory charges in the case and are held on $500,000 bail.
Wallace will be back in court on July 7 for a pre-trial conference hearing.
Ortiz is being arraigned later.
