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Testimony In Hernandez Murder Trial Centers On Street Sweeper

BOSTON (CBS) -- It appeared to be bombshell testimony in the Aaron Hernandez murder trial. A street sweeper took the stand with a story the defense hopes can clear Hernandez in the crime.

Today the judge sent the jury home so he could hear from street sweeper Warren McMaster. He drove past the murder scene while on the job the morning of July 16, 2012 and says he told police that he saw what appeared to be a white SUV with a woman standing through the sunroof with a recording device.

warren mcmasters
Warren McMasters, who drove a street sweeper for the City of Boston and passed the murder scene in 2012. (WBZ-TV)

"She could have been making a phone call or looking for help. Did you tell this to officers?" defense attorney Jose Baez said. "Yes," answered McMaster.

It's an account Boston Police say they never got from McMaster the morning of the double murders and only learned about it when McMaster was questioned last week after being subpoenaed.

It raises the possibility that someone else was at the scene where Hernandez is accused of gunning down Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado after an encounter at a Boston nightclub.

Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado
Daniel de Abreu (left) and Safiro Furtado. (WBZ-TV graphic)

Detective Paul MacIsaac testified McMaster never told him and he was "surprised" to hear it. The defense claims it's evidence the prosecution kept from them, including McMaster's claim that he was "forced" by police to empty the contents of his trash container so they could look for evidence of any shell casings he may have picked up while sweeping the street.

Police say McMaster emptied the hopper on his own, and didn't think he was even close enough to the scene to have picked up anything crucial. The judge will now decide how much of the testimony the jury will be allowed to hear when the trial resumes.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz reports

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