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5 things to know about Aaron Hernandez’s brother following his arrest
Dennis John “D.J.” Hernandez, the older brother of late Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, is in police custody after being accused of planning shootings at local colleges, according to multiple reports.
According to the Bristol, Conn. Police Department, a woman claiming to be Hernandez’s ex-girlfriend said he drove to Brown University and UConn on July 7 to “map out” the schools. She suspected it was part of his planning process, police said.
Hernandez was supposed to be in court that day for a separate incident, but the woman said Hernandez took her car to the campuses instead.
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The 37-year-old Hernandez was arrested and charged with breach of peace and threatening, according to the police department. He was held on $250,000 bond and is scheduled for a hearing next week, according to TMZ.
Here are five things to know about Hernandez.
Aaron Hernandez once committed to UConn to play with his brother
D.J. Hernandez spent five seasons playing college football for the UConn Huskies. He began as a quarterback and later became a starter at wide receiver. Hernandez was a team captain during his final two seasons. In 2007, Hernandez won UConn’s Football Alumni Award for being the “ultimate team player,” according to the school’s website.
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Aaron Hernandez, who was a prized recruit at the time, initially committed to join D.J. at UConn.
“I wish my dad was here now that more schools are coming. Notre Dame just came on recently and it really makes you think. It just makes me think more,” Hernandez said at the time in an interview with the Hartford Courant. “My dad would have been able to help me out even more. But I’m pretty sure he would have wanted me to go UConn. My family wants me to go to UConn and my heart’s at UConn.’’
Hernandez ended up playing for Urban Meyer at the University of Florida.
He coached college football at Brown and Iowa
After his playing career ended, D.J. Hernandez became a coach.
He spent two years at Southington High School in Connecticut, before becoming a graduate assistant at Miami. He had a stint as quarterbacks coach at Brown and one as tight-ends coach at Iowa.
According to the Hartford Courant, Hernandez left coaching for a few years to run a roofing business in Dallas before being hired as head coach of Ledyard High School in Connecticut. Hernandez lasted one season at Ledyard, which was his most recent coaching stop.
He wrote a book about his relationship with his brother
In 2018, D.J. Hernandez published a book called “The Truth About Aaron: My Journey to Understand My Brother.”
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The author’s name is listed as Jonathan Hernandez, which Hernandez began calling himself after Aaron Hernandez’s murder conviction in 2018.
An excerpt of the book’s description on Amazon reads:
“A shocking and moving account of promise, tragedy, and loss — of one man’s descent into rage and violence, as told by the person who knew him more closely than anyone else.
He’s been arrested multiple times this year
Hernandez has had a string of recent arrests.
According to TMZ, Hernandez led police on a car chase in March that resulted in criminal charges.
Police arrested Hernandez in a separate incident involving a bag with a brick and a handwritten note being thrown onto ESPN property in Bristol:
“To all media outlets, It’s about time you all realeyes the affect media has on all family members,” the note said, according to police. “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.”
Hernandez failed to appear in court on charges related to the brick throwing incident prompting a judge to order him to be re-arrested.
He allegedly said he has a ‘bullet for everyone’
According to the arrest warrant, which was obtained by WSFB in Hartford, a woman who Hernandez had been dating for some time and had recently broken up with said she was concerned for Hernandez’s mental health.
The woman told police that Hernandez said “he has a bullet for everyone, that he loves me, but even you’re … not safe.”
She said she didn’t feel threatened “specifically,” but was concerned by the meaning of the comment and for his mental health.
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