A Connecticut man who alleges he lost his right eye and sustained other "permanent" injuries after being shot in the face by Aaron Hernandez in February has been summoned to appear before a grand jury in Massachusetts that is considering the murder case against the one-time NFL star.
Superior Court Judge Joan Alexander in Hartford, Conn., ordered on Friday that Alexander Bradley testify July 17 in Fall River, Mass., where a grand jury is probing allegations that the former New England Patriots tight end orchestrated the murder of Odin Lloyd, according to a court document obtained by NBC News.
According to the suit, Hernandez was driving from Tootsie's strip club in Miami to Palm Beach with a group of people at the time of the dispute.
A gun that Hernandez "was not legally licensed to have" then discharged, the suit stated. The bullet struck Bradley, causing him to lose his right eye and resulting in several surgeries, difficulty eating and other damages that are "permanent in nature," according to the suit.
A Palm Beach County police reported obtained by NBC News last month said that the case became inactive after Bradley refused to cooperate with emergency officials, telling them that he didn't know who shot him.
The report states: "En route to the hospital while the Palm Beach County Fire Rescue was treating the victim, I attempted asking him several times if he knew who did this to him and he stated, 'No.'"
Bradley denied that the wounds were self-inflicted, according to the report.
He is seeking at least $75,000 in damages from Hernandez, said David Jaroslawicz, one of the attorneys representing Bradley. He added that his client wants to know whether the gun was discharged on purpose.
"When we get Mr. Hernandez's testimony, hopefully he'll tell us," Jaroslawicz said on June 20. "My guess is he'll say 'I didn't do it deliberately.'"
Bradley was discovered shortly before 7 a.m. on Feb. 13 in an alley of a John Deere landscaping business in Riviera Beach, Fla., just miles from Palm Beach, according to the report, after someone called 911 to report a sighting of a bleeding person. Bradley was then found with blood on his head and a possible gunshot wound to his hand, according to police.
Bradley reportedly has resisted an interstate subpoena, claiming he needed to travel to Florida for medical treatment, according to The Associated Press.
But Judge Alexander in Hartford said the prospective court appearance "will not cause undue hardship" for Bradley, according to the summons. The document also states that Bradley "is a material and necessary witness" in the investigation of Hernandez.
Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-pro football player for the Boston Bandits, was found dead June 17 near Hernandez's home in North Attleborough, Mass. Prosecutors allege Hernandez orchestrated Lloyd's slaying because he was angry at him for talking to certain people at a Boston nightclub three nights before.
Bradley's testimony is scheduled for 9 a.m. on July 17, according to the summons.
