Aaron Hernandez, Tangled in Murder Probe, Also Sued for Allegedly Shooting Friend

Cops spent hours at Aaron Hernandez's home on Tuesday night.

ByABC News
June 19, 2013, 9:57 AM

BOSTON June 19, 2013— -- New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, who is caught in the middle of a homicide investigation of an "associate," is also being sued by a former friend who claims Hernandez shot his eye out after the two left a Miami strip club.

The suit states that Hernandez "possessed a gun which he was not legally licensed to have."

In a lawsuit filed in federal court on June 13, attorneys representing Alexander Bradley, 32, said that their client, Hernandez and several others were at Tootsie's strip club in Miami on Feb. 13 when Bradley and Hernandez got into an argument. The group then left the club, and while driving towards Palm Beach, Fla., Hernandez's gun discharged inside the vehicle.

"It fired, and a bullet went through my client's arm and blew out his right eye," attorney David Jaroslawicz told ABCNews.com. "It has been enucleated -- replaced with a prosthetic eye. He has also lost use of his right arm."

The lawyer said that "to my knowledge" no charges were filed as a result of the shooting.

A spokesman for the Miami-Dade Police Department said, "The Miami-Dade Police Department does not have any documented incident on record. We will continue to research the incident, and as with any developing situation, the details may change."

Jaroslawicz said that the suit was voluntarily discontinued because language describing the injuries was incorrect. It was being refiled today, he said.

Patriots Player's Home Searched in Murder Investigation. Watch now.

Bradley has done personal assistant work for Hernandez, according to Jaroslawicz. He did not disclose the amount of damages sought in the suit, but said that Bradley has had four surgeries so far and anticipates two or three more.

Massachusetts State Police, who searched Hernandez's home Tuesday night, executed a search warrant today for an Enterprise rental car that was leased by Hernandez. The car was left near where the body of Odin Lloyd, 27, who was found Monday evening with a gunshot wound to the head.

The body was discovered in a clearing near John Dietsch Boulevard, less than a mile from Hernandez's $1.3 million, 5,600-square foot home in North Attleborough, Mass.

Police spent hours at Hernandez's home Tuesday night, taking evidence photos and removing boxes. Another search was conducted of a car parked in Hernandez's driveway, a 2012 Chrysler 200 LX. The license plate connected that car to an Enterprise rental in Hernandez's name, several law enforcement sources told ABC News.

A third enterprise rental car registered to Hernandez was recovered at a Boston Enterprise rental location. Last night, police were looking for this car, one of several that was registered to the football player, and intend to search it as well, sources said.

"Someone dropped it off yesterday," a law enforcement source told ABC News. "Last night a BOLO [be on the lookout bulletin] was issued to all police for that vehicle, a silver Chevy. It has been recovered."

Police could be seen today searching the woods and front yards of homes stretching from the scene of the crime to Hernandez's house. A gun was found in the search, but ballistic tests discounted it as the weapon that killed Lloyd, sources said.

Lloyd was a linebacker for a semi-pro team called the Boston Bandits. Suffolk County District Attorney Jake Wark told ABC News that Lloyd had one arrest in 2008, a misdemeanor charge stemming from a fight.

Stacey James, a New England Patriots official, said on behalf of the team, "I am aware of the reports, but I do not anticipate that we will be commenting publicly during an ongoing police investigation."

Hernandez's sports agency, Athletes First, declined to comment.

His lawyer did not respond to repeated calls from ABC News today.

Hernandez is spending the off-season recovering from a shoulder surgery, though he was spotted at practice recently welcoming new Patriots' quarterback Tim Tebow.