Ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez, who is already serving life sentence for 2013 murder, was acquitted Friday in a 2012 double slaying prosecutors said was fueled by his anger over a spilled drink.
The former tight end for the New England Patriots wept quietly as the verdicts were read in Boston. Relatives of the victims sobbed loudly.
The jury found Hernandez not guilty of first-degree murder in the killings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado. It convicted him of a single charge: unlawful possession of gun. The judge sentenced him to an additional four to five years in prison, separate from his existing life sentence, for that conviction.
Prosecutors said Hernandez opened fire on their car because he felt disrespected when one of the men bumped into him and spilled his drink at a Boston nightclub.
The defence team pointed the finger at Alexander Bradley, a close friend of Hernandez who was with him the night of the shootings.
Hernandez was also acquitted Friday of shooting Bradley in the face months later to try to silence him as a witness.