At 10:07 p.m., Brady was at his locker located at the front right of a crowded locker room near the door. Brady was about to leave to take the fading eye black off his drained face. But first his shoulder pads and jersey waited on the chair. Each had a different desired destination. There were two bags. One, an embroidered bag with the Patriots logo that he used to haul his equipment to and from games, sat on the floor by his feet. It was a standard team-issued bag, packed to the brim with cleats, pads and other items earmarked for the equipment manager and his crew. That bag was for the shoulder pads.
The folded jersey was earmarked for an unzipped black leather handbag -- an oversized man-purse of sorts -- stuffed neatly with Brady's personal items. He put the jersey in that bag and left to remove the eye black.
On the video provided by Fox Sports, investigators could still see part of the jersey sticking out just enough to be grabbed. That's when a man authorities say is Ortega is seen approaching the bag, and with his back to the camera, reaches down for the jersey, removes it from the black leather bag, puts it in a black plastic bag and walks out with it under his left arm, according to a source who saw the video. Ortega has not been arrested or charged as of Tuesday afternoon.
Before Brady returned, the quarterback, who has won five Super Bowl championships, stopped to talk with former teammate and current NFL Network analyst Willie McGinest, who declared, "Make room for the GOAT" in the crunched locker room at NRG Stadium. The two chatted for a moment before Brady was back at his locker with a look on his face that did not befit a man who had just enjoyed one of the best moments of his professional career. Brady examined the leather tote and noticed the jersey wasn't in the black leather bag where it was left.
"B, did someone take my jersey?" Brady said to Brenden Murphy, an equipment assistant with the Patriots, before placing down the water bottle in his left hand to begin his own personal search. "It was in my bag. I absolutely 100 percent put it in my bag. Someone took it, B."