Aaron Hernandez requested to live with certain cellmates and apparently addressed rumors dating back to 2015 in seven handwritten letters from the Department of Correction obtained by NBC Boston.
The documents were received after NBC Boston filed a public records request. The letters to correction officers are written requests by Hernandez to be moved to a different cell block with requests to bunk with specific inmates.
“I am writing this letter so there is no confusions about me because I have been hearing things of being considered something which is false, so I wanted to clear all that,” he wrote.
In another letter he sought to counter prison rumors a second time, writing, “I have been hearing from many or rather few thinking I (redacted), but that is false…”
He described it as “false gossip,” adding, “What’s new?”
“I’m just trying to be placed with people im (sic) close with… I am even requesting to (bunk up/celly up) with my brother (name redacted). We both want to,” he wrote.
With a life sentence for the murder of Odin Lloyd, Hernandez told the guards in his request to move to cell block P2, he has “no enemies up there” and it is a place “that will be most peaceful” and wants to be “comfortable.”
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Names are redacted but he requested to move in with another inmate, writing “...me and him are very close and have been since the streets.” He continued, “He’s my heart and like a real brother to me.”
In the letter, Hernandez suggested that if he can’t move to another cell block with the inmate he names specifically, that inmate could potentially move in with him in his current cell block. He lists two inmates to bunk with, one he calls “my heart” and the other “a brother.”
Although Hernandez requests cellmates, he does write he prefers to live in a single cell, concerned people could steal his letters and law paper work to sell, get money and publicity. He feared that could hurt his case, and blamed the media for his situation. He ends one letter, “Please make it happen.”
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South Park neighbors and local business worked together and got their “hands dirty” to help make their cozy community sparkle.
The Clean Up South Park event is aimed at bringing value to South Park by giving neighbors and businesses continuing pride in the community, while creating an opportunity to come together and make a difference.
Volunteers of all ages donning green t-shirts helped picked up trash, paint over graffiti, clean up sidewalks and streets, pull gnarly weeds and sweep up street curbs.
Recycle stations were also available for residents to dispose trash, electronic-waste products and even tires.
The goal for South Park residents is to make the Clean Up South Park event part of a sustained awareness campaign which would include two community clean up events each year.
The cleanup event is important to South Park locals who wish to focus on drawing more businesses and visitors, reducing crime, increasing property values and adding beauty to their charming neighborhood.
A view of the brush fire burning near Dulzura in the southern portion of San Diego County from Mt. Miguel on Saturday, May 20, 2017.
Eight people suffered non-life-threatening injuries Saturday when a Boeing 737 passenger jet collided with an airport utility truck on a taxiway at Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said.
The collision happened just before 2:30 p.m. on the taxiway near Runway 25 Right shortly after Aeromexico Flight 642 from Mexico City landed, according to Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The collision caused the utility/supply truck to overturn and all eight people on the truck, six men and two women, were injured, Humphrey said. "The two females are more seriously injured while the males have lesser injuries,'' he said.
The nature of the injuries was not specified.
There were no injuries on the Aeromexico jetliner that had approximately 146 passengers and crew on board, Humphrey said. There was damage to the right wing of the aircraft but there was no fuel spill or fire.
Locals pitched in Saturday to help clear trash at the San Diego River, taking part in one of the many events that make up the annual San Diego River Days celebration.
Hosted by the San Diego River Park Foundation, River Days aims to inspire locals to work towards preserving the historic San Diego River and the San Diego region.
Sarah Hutmatcher said River Days is an important part of helping to restore beauty to the San Diego region.
“River Days is all about celebrating what the river has to offer and all the ways you can enjoy it, and be a part of the solution to help deal with some of the issues it’s facing,” Hutmachter told NBC 7’s Ramon Galindo.
The two-weekend celebration includes environmental education events for kids, hiking, service projects and more.
Also, locals can take tours of places that usually are not available to the public.
The San Diego River runs 52 miles from the mountains near Julian to Ocean Beach and offers many opportunities for nature exploration, recreation and discovery.
California State Assemblymember Todd Gloria (District 78) participated in River Days events last weekend, on May 13, when the festivities officially kicked off.
Over the last 15 years, the San Diego River Park Foundation has taken out two million pounds from the river.
Raw footage shot by NBC 7 of the flames pushing through hundreds of acres of brush during Saturday's "Gate Fire" off SR-84, south of Jamul.
San Diego County Sheriff’s detectives are investigating the death of a man who was involved in an altercation with authorities at a townhouse complex in the 8100 block of Lemon Grove Way.
The man was reportedly seen jumping fences into residents’ backyards to try to break into homes.
After making contact with the suspect in the common patio area around 8:15 a.m. Saturday, deputies said the man refused multiple orders to get on the ground.
Two deputies deployed department-issued Tasers, striking the suspect. The suspect went to the ground but still refused to comply, deputies said.
The deputies used the Tasers on the suspect again, with minimal effect according to the SDSO. Eventually they were able to subdue the suspect and place him in handcuffs.
The deputies called for paramedics because a Taser had been used. The suspect was alert and still struggling with officers when the paramedics arrived, but once they began to evaluate him he became unresponsive, according to the sheriff's department.
The suspect was taken to the hospital. CPR was initiated en route to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead just before 12 p.m., officials said.
The suspect’s name is being withheld pending notification of family.
The Medical Examiner has not yet determined the cause of death.
All lanes on north Interstate 5 are now open after two briefly closed due to a brush fire in an embankment between the railroad tracks and the freeway near Grand and Garnet, Caltrans confirms.
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The fire started around 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
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The fire has a moderate rate of spread, and officials are calling additional units to help control the fire.
Train service has been shut down.
Eight people were hit in a shooting in North Philadelphia Saturday night and two of them are in critical condition, according to police.
The shooting occurred around 10:30 p.m. on the 2100 block of W. Huntingdon Street.
Seven men and one woman were injured in the shooting, ages ranging from 18 to 26.
Police are unsure of how this incident started at this time. They are expected to brief the public early Sunday.
This story is developing. Check back for updates as elements may change.
A 22-year-old University of Maryland student was charged in the stabbing death of a Bowie State University student early Saturday morning in College Park, Maryland.
Sean Christopher Urbanski of Severna Park, Maryland, was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and first-degree assault in the death of the unidentified student from Bowie State.
Lawyer information for Urbanski was not immediately available.
The victim was at a bus stop with two friends near Montgomery Hall on Regents Drive about 3 a.m. Saturday, when Urbanski allegedly attacked and stabbed him, police said. He was seriously injured and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
"It never gets any worse than this," University of Maryland Police Chief David Mitchell said at a news conference Saturday afternoon. "When I sat with the victim's father, who is a military veteran, and his pastor and we shed tears together...I can tell you, it rips your heart out."
The altercation appeared to be random and unprovoked, according to Mitchell.
"The assailant in this case approached and, totally unprovoked, stabbed the victim in the chest," Mitchell said.
The victim's friends then called 911. University police responded and took the suspect into custody by the bus stop where the stabbing happened, Mitchell said.
Police said the victim's name would be released after his relatives were notified.
"I met with his family earlier today. Needless to say, they're very distraught. They're shattered, but they do know that the assailant in this case has been arrested, and he will be appropriately charged," Mitchell said.
Mitchell said the suspect had been drinking but would not comment on what effect, if any, that had on the incident.
A university surveillance camera captured the attack.
The president of Bowie State University, Mickey Burnim, said counseling services will be available to students and a moment of silence will be observed during the school's commencement on Tuesday.
"Our first thoughts of condolence go to the family for this tremendous loss of a son, who had the promise of a bright future. Our prayers of concern also extend to those within the Bowie State University community as we try to cope with this tragic loss of life.
"As we struggle to deal with our emotions, let’s find appropriate ways to express our sorrow and hope for justice. Let’s remember our words and actions have the power to heal and the power to hurt. Let's strive to use our actions to bring comfort and peace."
University of Maryland President Wallace Loh said, in a statement, commencement exercises at UMd. on Sunday would also have a moment of silence.
"Words cannot express my deep anguish over this horrific tragedy. My deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of the victim, and to the entire Bowie State community. I ask that every member of our campus community join me in keeping the victim’s family in their thoughts and prayers.
"There is strength in our unity as we grieve. For this reason and in solidarity with the Bowie State community, we will honor a moment of silence to begin tomorrow's commencement exercises.”
As firefighter worked to extinguish the Gate Fire in Jamul on Saturday, evacuated residents were left wondering when they would be able to go back home, and even worse, if they would still have a home to come back to.
Wildfire season threatens the San Diego area every year, and for some, like Pat Pendleton, the 2007 fire season is still a fresh memory.
Every square inch of Pendleton’s nine-and-a-half-acre Jamul property was destroyed in a wildfire 10 years ago. Pendleton and her husband were safe from the scorch— they were in town when it started– but their dog, photo albums and family mementos all perished.
“It's a feeling I haven't had for a while, and now it's back.” Pendleton said.
She was parked in her car on Honey Spring Road for hours Saturday waiting to see if she could drive to her home near Dulzura.
It’s the same road where she parked 10 years ago on a Sunday waiting to learn her home’s fate. When she finally saw the damage for herself that Thursday, she said her property looked “like a moonscape.”
“I can’t,” she said in a semi-broken voice, trying to explain the emotions brought about her when she saw the flames roaring in the dry grass. “It’s very emotional. It’s a feeling that you tuck away and you don’t ever want to feel it again.”
She was confident that firefighters would have the Gate Fire under control sooner rather than later, but was understandably fearful given her past experience.
“I think they have a handle on things a lot faster than they had in 2007,” Pendleton said. “So they're doing a great job."
An evacuation warning for the Dulzura are was issued Saturday and some evacuees were escorted back to their homes overnight. Others took refuge at a Red Cross shelter site at Otay Ranch High School in Chula Vista.
As of 7:20 a.m. Sunday, the fire stood at 1,500 acres and was 30 percent contained, according to Cal Fire San Diego. Officials said that overnight temperatures and increased humidity allowed firefighters to make progress in fire containment.
Cal Fire officials said the blaze began around 11:20 a.m. Saturday off SR-94 and Otay Truck Trail, near Otay Lakes Road, in an area called Pink Gates near a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint station. The area is south of Jamul and northwest of Dulzura.
The fire had swelled to more than 100 acres within the first hour, according to Cal Fire. By 5 p.m. the fire was reported at 800 acres and 10 percent containment, and by 9:30 p.m. it had grown to 1,000 acres and was 20 percent contained.
A motorcyclist was killed in a crash on Interstate 15 Saturday night, California Highway Patrol (CHP) confirmed.
CHP said the driver of a passing vehicle reported seeing a motorcycle down in northbound lanes near Miramar Way at around 10:40 p.m.
Officers responded to the scene and confirmed the motorcyclist had died.
CHP did not confirm further circumstances of the crash or the motorcyclist’s gender.
No other information was available.
Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.
San Diego, a city known for its ice sheets and passion for cold weather sports, is the place that one Olympian calls home.
OK, only part of that is true.
Two-time Olympic bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor was born in Oceanside and is training for the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
She captured a gold medal at the World Championships in February, likely earning herself a spot on Team USA for her third straight Olympic Games. Meyers Taylor won bronze in Vancouver in 2010 and silver in Sochi in 2014, and is looking to add gold to her trophy case come February 2018.
She’s recognized as one of the sport’s most dominant athletes, and her physical abilities give her a clear advantage over other competitors.
“Number one, it's my speed and my strength,” Meyers Taylor said. “I'm one of the best pushing drivers in the world and that really helps get the sled going as fast as possible.”
The bobsled track at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, like tracks in other parts of the country, has gone dormant with rising temperatures. Meyers Taylor migrated to the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center to perfect her craft under the sun.
There, she got to know her husband, Nicholas Taylor, a Team USA bobsledder. The couple can now call themselves teammates, too, thanks to recent rule change allowing women to compete in the 4-man sled discipline.
This past winter, The Taylors helped drive their mixed gender sled to better results than some high profile all-male teams.
"It’s been such an amazing experience,” Meyers Taylor said. “I have a lot of disadvantages competing in the 4-man discipline, but he makes sure my disadvantages are minimized. But in a two person, if it was us competing against other couples, especially, we'd crush it."
You can catch Elana Meyers-Taylor and the rest of Team USA when they compete in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in a short eight and a half months on NBC 7.
The parking lot of Otay Ranch High School in Chula Vista was packed full of trucks and RV’s Sunday as evacuated families awaited returning to the Pio Pico campground.
The Red Cross set up an overnight shelter at the school for evacuated campers and residents of Dulzura, a community that was under an evacuation warning well into Sunday, after the Gate Fire sparked on Saturday.
Juan Valdivia and his family live in their RV traveling the continent and chasing experiences for his five children, but he calls Pio Pico home base at the moment.
He said that a lot of the RV’s at the campground house families living the same lifestyle-- They're known in the community as full-timers.
Valvdivia said that he wasn’t too concerned at the first sign of smoke, but then about a half-hour later, Cal Fire and law enforcement officers came to the campground and told them about the evacuation.
The Valdivias were packed and ready to leave the grounds within about 10 minutes of initial warning. They left the kids’ bikes behind and other replaceable items, focusing on the important things.
The family has suffered through two separate house fires and has lived in their RV since the second. Juan said his wife had an evacuation plan ready for this exact situation.
Cal Fire officials told Valdivia that there isn’t immediate danger to the campground and that they believe the fire has moved in the opposite direction. However, there is concern with the grounds’ infrastructure—potentially damaged wells and water pipes and a busted water hydrant impacting water supply.
“We’re just going to hang out,” Valdivia said. “Make sure that other people that aren’t as fortunate as us, that didn’t bring stuff over, are OK.
Valdivia serves as a part-time Ranger at a nearby park and said that his chief concern was making sure that everyone was safe and that their needs; food, water and pet care, are being met.
Jennifer Cerutti, a full-timer and traveling artist, was resting at her camp site when she looked up and saw a big pillar of black smoke. After asking around and finding out little information other than a rumor that a warning had been issued, she called 911.
“Actually, before I called 911 I stopped a couple of people that worked in the park and they didn’t really know what to do,” Cerutti said. “They didn’t know if we were going to be evacuated or not.”
Her call to emergency dispatchers confirmed the park was to be evacuated, and that deputies were on their way to notify people in the campground.
“I was shaking the whole time,” Cerutti said, describing her own frantic evacuation process. “Somehow my adrenaline got me moving really fast. Normally it takes me a couple of hours to get ready to go, but I got ready in, like, 40 minutes or less.”
A good chunk of her time was spent hitching her trailer to her truck solo.
“It’s really hard to back up a truck and hitch a trailer by yourself.”
Cerutti credited the Red Cross for being “Right on the scene,” and helping evacuees any way they could.
One evacuated camper told her that Red Cross volunteers showed up at a nearby Walmart where campers had gathered, keeping them updated with potential refuge site information and providing other assistance.
“I’m really happy for the Red Cross,” Cerutti said. “This just feels safer than camping in a Walmart parking lot.”
Cerutti hopes that she can return to Pio Pico to resume her project, but may have to carry on in the L.A. area if the camp is closed. She said it’s a waiting game for now.
Otay Ranch High School is located at 1250 Olympic Parkway in Chula Vista.
Cal Fire San Diego officials said the fire began around 11:20 a.m. Saturday off SR-94 and Otay Truck Trail, near Otay Lakes Road, in an area called Pink Gates near a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint station. The area is south of Jamul and northwest of Dulzura.
As of 7:20 a.m. Sunday, the fire stood at 1,500 acres and was 30 percent contained, according to Cal Fire. Officials said that overnight temperatures and increased humidity allowed firefighters to make progress in fire containment.
Otay Lakes Road between Wueste Road and State Route 94 is closed, and all closures along SR-94 in the area of the fire have been lifted.
The next update from Cal Fire is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday.
The Escondido Fire Department (EFD) is battling a 5 to 10-acre brush fire near 11th Avenue.
According to EFD, the fire started at around 2:15 p.m. near 2066 Lemon Avenue, south of 11th Avenue and west of Interstate 15.
Cal Fire assistance, including air support, has been requested.
No other information was available.
Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.
Relatives of the Bowie State University student stabbed and killed on the University of Maryland's College Park campus identified him Sunday.
Family members told News4 his name is Richard Collins III. Police have not formally identified the victim yet.
A 22-year-old University of Maryland student has been charged Collins' death.
Sean Christopher Urbanski, of Severna Park, Maryland, was charged with first- and second-degree murder and first-degree assault.
Lawyer information for Urbanski was not immediately available.
Collins was at a bus stop with two friends near Montgomery Hall on Regents Drive about 3 a.m. Saturday, when Urbanski allegedly attacked and stabbed him, police said. He was seriously injured and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
"It never gets any worse than this," University of Maryland Police Chief David Mitchell said at a news conference Saturday afternoon. "When I sat with the victim's father, who is a military veteran, and his pastor and we shed tears together...I can tell you, it rips your heart out."
The altercation appeared to be random and unprovoked, according to Mitchell.
"The assailant in this case approached and, totally unprovoked, stabbed the victim in the chest," Mitchell said.
The victim's friends then called 911. University police responded and took the suspect into custody by the bus stop where the stabbing happened, Mitchell said.
Police said the victim's name would be released after his relatives were notified.
"I met with his family earlier today. Needless to say, they're very distraught. They're shattered, but they do know that the assailant in this case has been arrested, and he will be appropriately charged," Mitchell said.
Mitchell said the suspect had been drinking but would not comment on what effect, if any, that had on the incident.
A university surveillance camera captured the attack.
The president of Bowie State University, Mickey Burnim, said counseling services will be available to students and a moment of silence will be observed during the school's commencement on Tuesday.
"Our first thoughts of condolence go to the family for this tremendous loss of a son, who had the promise of a bright future. Our prayers of concern also extend to those within the Bowie State University community as we try to cope with this tragic loss of life.
"As we struggle to deal with our emotions, let’s find appropriate ways to express our sorrow and hope for justice. Let’s remember our words and actions have the power to heal and the power to hurt. Let's strive to use our actions to bring comfort and peace."
University of Maryland President Wallace Loh said, in a statement, commencement exercises at UMd. on Sunday would also have a moment of silence.
"Words cannot express my deep anguish over this horrific tragedy. My deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of the victim, and to the entire Bowie State community. I ask that every member of our campus community join me in keeping the victim’s family in their thoughts and prayers.
"There is strength in our unity as we grieve. For this reason and in solidarity with the Bowie State community, we will honor a moment of silence to begin tomorrow's commencement exercises.”
Tehseen Lazzouni, a Muslim American living in San Diego, was impressed with President Donald Trump's speech to more than 50 Muslim leaders in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Sunday. She says she likes the new, softer tone he struck toward Islamic communities.
“I thought it was so ironic that here he is now, he is in a Muslim audience and now he's speaking so gently and kindly and moderately. There’s none of that extremist rhetoric we heard on the campaign trail,” Lazzouni told NBC 7.
The speech was a sharp departure from Trump’s harsh words during the campaign where he constantly referred to “radical Islamic terrorism” and called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” in 2015. He also told CNN in March of last year he believed “Islam hates us.” As president Trump has made two attempts at an executive order that aimed to ban people from multiple Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States – seen by some as the realization of his Muslim ban proposal. Both executive orders have been knocked down by the courts.
His Riyadh speech, which was said to have been largely written by aide Stephen Miller, took a much more measured tone.
"A better future is only possible if your nations drive out the terrorists and drive out the extremists,” Trump said in the speech Sunday. “Drive them out, drive them out of your places of worship, drive them out of your community, drive them out of your holy land and drive them out of this earth."
Lazzouni agreed with the President that we should work with Muslim countries to combat terrorism.
“I think ISIS needs to be fought on several different fronts and one of them should be finance,” she said.
Lazzouni said she liked how the president recognized the headway some Muslim countries have already made, and said she’s cautious about the future but thinks this is a good first step.
Trump called on Muslim leaders to help combat a 'crisis of Islamic extremism' from the region.
"There is still much work to be done,” Trump said in his speech. “That means honestly confronting the crisis of Islamic extremism and the Islamists and Islamic terror of all kinds."
His visit to Saudi Arabia was the first part of a nine-day tour that includes stops in Israel, the Vatican and Belgium. This is the president’s first trip abroad since taking the oath of office in January.
The Gate Fire, which started Saturday morning and quickly spread to 1,500 acres is now a criminal investigation, Cal Fire Confirmed Sunday.
Investigators spoke to a witness who posted an Instagram video that appears to show people starting the fire. The witness cooperated with officials and is not under investigation, Cal Fire said.
Officials would not confirm if they had any suspects or any other details of the investigation.
Cal Fire investigators and Bureau of Land Management are handling the investigation.
Check back on this breaking story for updates.
