Given what Aaron Hernandez used to do for a living and the presence of names like Bill Belichick on the list of potential witnesses, it is inevitable that there will be some mention of the New England Patriots during Hernandez’s trial on charges that he murdered Odin Lloyd.
Given the seriousness of that allegation, one would hope that Hernandez’s attorney James Sultan’s unnecessary joke during testimony on Thursday is the last time that one of those references is made in jest. While questioning Massachusetts State Police Trooper Timothy Dowd about tire pressure, Sultan decided to have a little fun.
“Did you ever receive training in football deflation devices?” Sultan asked, via CBS Boston.
On Friday, Judge Susan Garsh reminded Sultan and the rest of the people involved in the trial that they were conducting “very serious business.” Sultan agreed that, “in hindsight,” it was a mistake to lace some jokes into his questioning of a law enforcement officer during a murder trial and apologized for having done it.
Jurors will travel to Hernandez’s home and the site where Lloyd’s body was found on Friday as the trial continues.
