Aaron Hernandez double murder trial date set

Former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez, already serving a life sentence for killing a man near his home, is scheduled to go to trial Feb. 13 for the murder of two men he allegedly shot outside of a Boston nightclub.

Hernandez appeared in Suffolk Superior Courthouse with his lawyers Tuesday for a hearing, where the trial date was set.

Hernandez, 26, pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and weapons charges in the 2012 drive-by murders ofDaniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado. Hernandez allegedly became angry after one of them spilled a drink on him.

Recently, Hernandez hired new lawyers, Harvard Law professor Ronald S. Sullivan Jr. and Jose Baez, who successfully defended Casey Anthony in her trial in her daughter’s death.

Last summer, Alexander Bradley, the man Hernandez allegedly shot in the face for mentioning the fatal shootings of de Abreu and Furtado, was granted immunity fromSuffolk County prosecutors trying the double murder.

Bradley was shot, authorities said, after he commented on two men in a club that Hernandez reportedly thought were undercover cops. It might have to do with “that stupid suff you did in Boston,” Bradley told Hernandez prior to being shot, authorities said.

According to documents previously filed in court, Bradley was in the passenger seat of Hernandez’s car when he pulled up next to de Abreu and Furtado on Shawmut Avenue and opened fire.

It’s unclear if Bradley will testify in court. He is currently serving time in a Conneticut prison for gun charges not related to the Hernandez case.

Bradley testified in the trial for the murder of Odin Lloyd, for which Hernandez was convicted in 2013. Lloyd’s body was found in an industrial park close to the former NFL star’s North Attleboro home.