Hernandez associate court appearance postponed

FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) - A court appearance scheduled for an associate of ex-New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez accused of being an accessory to murder after the fact was postponed Wednesday.

Carlos Ortiz was due in Fall River Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon, but the court date was postponed in the morning. There is no word on a rescheduled date.

Ortiz has pleaded not guilty to the charge and is being held on $500,000 cash bail. His attorney had planned to argue for a lower amount at his last court appearance but put it off.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez's girlfriend.

Prosecutors say Ortiz and another associate, Ernest Wallace, were with Hernandez in a car on the June night Lloyd was killed near Hernandez's North Attleborough home.

Cox Media Group