GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Authorities in the Massachusetts murder case against former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez have reached out to the police in Gainesville, Fla., in hopes of determining if Hernandez had any role in a 2007 shooting that left two men wounded, a source with knowledge of the murder investigation told ABC News. One of the men was shot in the back of the head, according to a police report of the shooting obtained by ESPN's Outside the Lines.
At the time of the 2007 shooting, Hernandez was a freshman on the University of Florida football team. Hernandez is being held without bail in Massachusetts after being charged June 26 with first-degree murder of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd along with five weapons-related counts. Prosecutors called Lloyd's killing an execution-style shooting orchestrated by Hernandez because Lloyd talked to the wrong people at a nightclub. Authorities say Lloyd was shot three times at an industrial park as he twisted away in a futile attempt to avoid gunshots and then was shot two more times on each side of the chest.
The 2007 Gainesville shooting happened on Sept. 30, when Hernandez was a 17 year old freshman with the Gators. The two men and a friend of theirs had left a nightclub and were in their car stopped at a light blocks away when their vehicle was fired upon, according to the statements two of the men gave to police. Corey Smith, a 28-year-old at the time who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was shot in back of the head. Justin Glass, the 19-year-old driver, was shot in the arm. Randall Cason, sitting in the back seat behind Smith, was unharmed.
While several witnesses told police the shooter was a black male, Cason said there were two suspects.
Cason, then 20, told police that shooter was a "Hawaiian" or "Hispanic" male who had a large muscular build, stood about 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-4, weighed about 230 or 240 pounds and had a lot of tattoos. Cason said there was also a black male with the shooter, and Cason identified the black male as Reggie Nelson, a former Florida Gator who was a rookie with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Nelson, in an interview with the Gainesville police, said he had been at the nightclub earlier but denied he was even on the same street as the shooting.
"As they were waiting for the light to change, the Hawaiian football player and Reggie Nelson walked up to their car on the right side," the police report says, citing what Cason told detectives. "Then without saying a work (sic), the Hawaiian pointed a small handgun in the front right window and fired five quick shots. Cason saw Smith slump over with blood coming out of the back of the head, at which time the Hawaiian and Nelson took off running towards McDonalds."
The police report says that Nelson and Hernandez had been in The Venue nightclub along with two other Gator players, Mike and Maurkice Pouncey, twins who now both play in the NFL. After the shooting, investigators interviewed Cason at Shands hospital. Cason is described as distraught and emotional and an officer indicated Cason said several times "it should have been him that had been shot and not Cory (sic)." Cason told investigators that a week earlier his brother had gotten into an altercation with several Florida football players.
Nelson told investigators that he was at The Venue with several friends that night. He said he later saw Aaron Hernandez and the Pouncey twins, and Hernandez told him that one of the twins had his necklace snatched by Cason. After the club closed, one of the twins confirmed the story to Nelson. Nelson said he went to speak to Cason, advised that he didn't want any trouble and the two parted on good terms. He said he was not on West University Avenue, the street where the shooting took place, when Smith and Glass were shot.
Two days after the shooting, Gainesville police Lt. Keith Kameg was quoted in the Orlando Sentinel as saying neither Hernandez nor Nelson were suspects. Police have also said that they briefly interviewed Hernandez about the shooting. But, according to the police report, Hernandez declined to speak to Gainesville police nine days after the shooting. Hernandez's name is redacted from the report because he was 17 at the time, so was considered a minor. However, there is one reference to Hernandez in which his name is not redacted. In that section under "Aaron Hernandez," the report says detectives attempted to speak to Hernandez on Oct. 9 but that "he invoked his right to counsel."
That same day Cason, who had originally said Nelson and the Hawaiian or Hispanic male were the suspects, "rescinded his identification of Aaron Hernandez and Reggie Nelson," according to the report. While Hernandez' name was redacted in the document, it was the first time the report indicated that Cason had positively identified Hernandez as the shooter at some point.
Outside the Lines left messages for Cason, Glass and now retired Gainesville detective Patty Nixon that were not returned.
Smith, who says he suffers from seizures as a result of the shooting, said, "God is good. I'm here for a reason. I just want to know what happened and who did it so I can go forward with my life."
