Photo: Bristol Police Department
Dennis 'D.J.' Hernandez, the older brother of late former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, who died while serving a murder conviction, was once arrested after police said he plotted shootings at the University of Connecticut and Brown University.
Bristol Police Department documents obtained by TMZ Sports accuse Hernandez of being "gravely disabled and a danger to society" after several people told police that he'd acted erratically in July, which included sending a text message in which he threatened, "we're taking lives if s*** isn't paid up. It's been years in planning just taking notes, names and locations. They talked their way into this and it's almost point game."
A woman who claimed to be Hernandez's ex-girlfriend said he drove her car to Brown and UConn and "went into a number of classrooms and buildings" on the same day he was scheduled to appear in court on July 7 for a prior incident at ESPN's Bristol, Connecticut, headquarters. Another person said they believed Hernandez had traveled to the campuses in order to plan shootings while talking to police.
Hernandez had posted messages using threatening language on social media earlier this month, which included writing, "Will I kill? Absolutely, I've warned my enemies so pay up front." Officers went to a residence where Hernandez was present later in the day and a standoff ensued, according to police documents obtained by TMZ Sports.
Hernandez told police he was "on foot, armed and that if we approached him, he would kill us all" during the standoff before later exiting the residence, according to the documents.
"He began yelling shoot me and disregarded the numerous police commands," the documents stated.
Hernandez was tasered by officers at the scene before being detained and transported to a local hospital for evaluation, at which point he continued to make serious threats, which included claiming he'd kill "anyone who profited off of his brother Aaron," specifically mentioning ESPN, "but not any people."
In March, Hernandez was charged with misdemeanor breach of peace in relation to an incident in which he allegedly threw a brick with a note attached to it at ESPN's headquarters. ESPN security told police that an Uber arrived at one of their gates and was turned away before a passenger exited the vehicle, threw something on the property, re-entered the vehicle and left.
Officers found a white plastic bag with a large brick and a handwritten note that stated, "to all media outlets, It's about time you all realeyes [sic] the affect media has on all family members. Since you're a world wide leader maybe you could lead how media and messages are delivered brick by brick. Clean it up! Yours truly, Dennis J. Hernandez."
Police made contact with Hernandez, who admitted to being at ESPN's headquarters, but said he "didn't wish to speak about the incident." Hernandez was advised not to return to ESPN's campus during his arrest and told that he'd be re-arrested for trespassing if he returned, which they claimed he "stated he understood."
Hernandez, who has gone by both Dennis and Jonathan since his brother's heavily publicized trial, published a book, The Truth About Aaron: My Journey to Understand My Brother, following the former tight end's death in 2017.
Aaron Hernandez was a decorated collegiate tight end at the University of Florida and NFL standout with the New England Patriots prior to his arrest in connection to the death of Odin Lloyd in 2013. Hernandez was found guilty of murder in the first-degree, which carried a sentence of life in prison without parole, as well as five additional firearm charges.