By Jose Castillo, news correspondent

The trial of 25-year-old former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez got off to a rocky start on Jan. 29. During his cross-examination of state trooper Timothy Dowd, defense attorney James Sultan chose to poke fun at last month’s “Deflategate” controversy. In response to evidence of tire tracks left at the crime scene, Sultan asked Dowd about tire deflation devices.

“Have you ever received training in football deflation devices?” Sultan said.

Dowd responded with a cold “no,” ending Sultan’s cross-examination.

This incident is just one of the problems that have arisen during the first days of the Hernandez trial.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty in the murder of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player and former friend of Hernandez. After reportedly spending time with Hernandez and two other suspects, Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace, Lloyd was found dead of multiple bullet wounds in the early hours of June 17, 2013. Nine days later, Hernandez was arrested and was subsequently released from the Patriots team.

The trial began with opening statements in which both the prosecution and the defense were fervent in their arguments.

“Aaron Hernandez is an innocent man,” defense attorney Michael Fee said. “The evidence will show that Aaron Hernandez did not murder his friend Odin Lloyd.”

Throughout the trial, the defense has tried to show what close friends Hernandez and Lloyd were, arguing that Hernandez could not have killed someone so important to him. Additionally, the defense has argued that police and investigators have more incentive to bring Hernandez down due to his former status as a professional football player.

“As soon as they found out that Aaron Hernandez, the celebrity football player, the New England Patriot, was a friend of Odin Lloyd, Aaron never had a chance,” Fee continued in his opening statement. “It was over.”

The prosecution opened by creating a timeline of events leading up to Lloyd’s death and previewing some of the evidence that will be used against Hernandez.

The trial proceeded with witness testimonies from those who were the first to spot Lloyd’s body at an industrial park. Three witnesses, one a 17-year-old who was jogging in the area and two workers, answered questions regarding Lloyd’s appearance at the time of discovery.

Over the next few days, both the prosecution and defense cross-examined Shaneah Jenkins, Lloyd’s girlfriend, and Ursula Ward, his mother. Both Jenkins and Ward denied the notion that Hernandez and Lloyd were close friends. However, Jenkins confirmed during the defense’s cross-examination that Lloyd had been Hernandez’s marijuana supplier.

After the third day of trial, Garsh dismissed a juror from the case due to a previously overlooked bias, which was not further explained. Garsh closed the trial to the public for the rest of the day to handle the situation. This came after two other jurors had been replaced during opening statements, one due to tardiness and the other also due to unnamed biases.

On the trial’s sixth day, the prosecution pointed out issues in the jurors’ visit to Hernandez’s home in North Attleboro, near where Lloyd’s body was found. The defense revealed that it had agreed to place religious decorations and sports memorabilia around the house in order to appeal to jurors.

This week’s snowstorms forced the trial to halt both Monday and Tuesday. However, on Tuesday, Garsh released a statement that Shayanna Jenkins, Hernandez’s girlfriend, was accused of helping Hernandez dispose of the gun that was allegedly used in Lloyd’s murder. Jenkins now faces separate charges.

On Feb. 10, Garsh gave Jenkins immunity when testifying during Hernandez’s trial, which prevents her from incriminating herself. However, she will have to testify in a separate case in order to avoid being charged with contempt of court.

Wednesday, though the trial resumed, Garsh dismissed another juror for “personal reasons that have nothing to do with the case.” The panel is now comprised of 16 jurors.

Along with those he faces in this case, Hernandez also faces other criminal charges, including a double murder that occurred in Boston in 2012.

Photo courtesy Jeffrey Beall, Creative Commons