Tentative date for Hernandez trial

BOSTON -- A judge has tentatively scheduled former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez to stand trial next year in May on murder charges in the 2012 drive-by slayings of two men.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to killing Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado after a nightclub encounter.

During a hearing Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court, Hernandez's lawyers asked Judge Jeffrey Locke to issue a gag order prohibiting anyone involved in the case from commenting outside court.

They said they were concerned Hernandez wouldn't get a fair trial because of extensive media coverage on the double slayings and another murder case against Hernandez in the 2013 death of semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd.

Prosecutors objected, saying they hadn't made any improper comments about the case.

The judge didn't immediately rule.