Aaron Hernandez

Aaron Hernandez Destroyed Home Security System and Phone, Sources Tell ABC News

NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, Mass. – The scene on Ronald C. Meyers Drive in Westwood Estates was like any played out in scores of neighborhoods across the country on any given Thursday afternoon. A group of kids playing roller hockey in a driveway. A small black-and-white dog rolling on a front yard. Some younger kids chasing each other on another lawn. Parents pushing strollers. A school bus dropping kids off after school. Even the ice cream truck came by.

All this, even though the subject of all the attention had not been home for several hours.

WHAT'S THE TRUTH? Accuser didn't name Hernandez to cops

MORE TROUBLE: Hernandez involved in nightclub incident

SCARED OFF: Teams were wary of Hernandez

Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, the subject of a homicide investigation, left his large grey-shingled home with a three-car garage shortly after 11 a.m. on Thursday in a white Audi SUV. He was followed by media helicopters as he drove to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, and then later to Boston, probably to meet with his lawyer. In between was a stop at a gas station, where he was approached by several members of the media but did not make a comment.

Near Corliss Landing, less than a mile away from Hernandez's home as the crow flies, two police cars sat at the end of dirt road near where 27-year-old Odin Lloyd's body was found Monday.

Steve Varney, a long-time resident of North Attleboro, knew Hernandez lived in town, but until Thursday afternoon had no idea where. So, he set out on his Keeway moped to find out.

"It's a circus," he said. "When I was riding up here, I did not expect to see all these cars. And then when I see all the cameras lined up, there's got to be about 30. It's just wow."

Varney, though, said he feels like most people in town.

"They just, for the most part, are getting a big kick out of it," he said. "But they don't seem to be backing him up, that's for sure. From what I've heard, they just assume he's guilty. And it's just another circus with the NFL."

Hernandez is not the first Patriots player to live in the neighborhood. One resident said Ty Warren, Deion Branch and Richard Seymour have all been neighbors. Hernandez bought the home from Warren.

"Honestly, he's great because he's like any other neighbor. Waves and says hi. I say hi. He just moved in. He's always cordial. My little one goes out to get ice cream. He comes out and gets ice cream, too. And they talk about which ice cream they like the best. That's like any neighbor. It's no different."

But this week it certainly has been.

"I left at 4:30 this morning for work. What you see is what I left with," the resident said.

And it's been like this since Monday, when news broke of the investigation and authorities' interest in Hernandez.

"I think waking up at 5 or 6 in the morning and hearing helicopters over your house is not something that you're used to," said the neighbor, who has lived in the area for just over four years.

Varney, meanwhile, awaits movement in the case.

"It's really too bad if he is guilty, if he's part of it, it's really too bad, because everybody loved him -- the Patriots and partly him. But what are you gonna do?" he said.

What is Varney going to do? He described himself as a "big time" Patriots fan. Does this affect his feelings for the team?

"Not at all," he said with a laugh. "Just win, baby."