A Florida man embroiled in the murder case against former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez today waived his right to contest extradition to Massachusetts in the sensational case, according to an assistant for the Broward County judge who presided at the hearing in South Florida.
Ernest Wallace, 41, of Miramar, Fla., appeared before Judge John Hurley, who accepted Wallace’s extradition waiver, clearing the way for Wallace to be returned to Massachusetts to face a charge of accessory after the fact to murder.
He is likely to be arraigned in Attleboro District Court by the end of the week, according to a spokesperson for Bristol District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter.
Wallace turned himself in Friday at a Florida police station after seeing news reports that said authorities considered him to be armed and dangerous and were looking for him in connection with the Hernandez case.
Hernandez, 23, a once-promising NFL tight end, is charged with weapons violations and first-degree murder in the execution-style slaying of Odin L. Lloyd of Dorchester, who was found dead June 17 in a North Attleborough industrial park near Hernandez’s home.
Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is being held without bail at the Bristol County Jail.
Prosecutors say they can link Hernandez to Lloyd’s killing through video footage from a number of security cameras, including from Hernandez’s own home protection system, which allegedly show the former Patriot and two other men, reportedly Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, 27, of Bristol, Conn., picking up Lloyd in Dorchester early June 17 in a rented car, and then driving into the industrial park about an hour later.
Lloyd’s body, shot five times, was discovered by a jogger later that day in a secluded section of the industrial park.
Ortiz pleaded not guilty to a weapons possession charge last week and is being held without bail. His lawyer, John J. Connors, today said he could not comment on the case.
Mark Arsenault can be reached at marsenault@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @bostonglobemark
