The brother of the late Aaron Hernandez has pleaded guilty to threatening the lives of three people in addition to a school shooting at the University of Connecticut, where he once played football.
Appearing in federal courtroom in Hartford on Wednesday, 38-year-old Dennis Hernandez admitted to transmitting interstate communications containing a threat to injure, which carries up to five years in prison. Sentencing was set for February 6.
Federal prosecutors said Hernandez threatened a shooting at UConn’s main campus in Storrs in July 2023 while messaging another person on Facebook.
‘I would recommend remaining away from there because when I go I’m taking down everything,’ Hernandez wrote, according to court documents. ‘And don’t give a (expletive) who gets caught in the crossfire. I’ve died for years now and now it’s others people turn. I’m prepared to give my life. … Not all shootings are bad I’m realizing. Some are necessary for change to happen.’
His public defender did not immediately return an email seeking comment Wednesday. A woman who answered a phone number for his mother, Terri Hernandez, declined to comment.
Terri Hernandez told police around the time of his arrest in Bristol last year that he had deteriorating mental health problems including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Dennis Hernandez was shocked with a stun gun and taken into custody after he came out of his sister’s house with his arms raised, yelling ‘shoot me’ and threatening to harm officers, police said.
Court filings said Hernandez was struggling financially, was frustrated at seeing other people get hired as football coaches and felt owed by UConn. He played quarterback and wide receiver for the Huskies.
Police said Hernandez had driven to the UConn campus and to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he once served as quarterbacks coach, to ‘map the schools out’ for a shooting.
Also in July 2023, prosecutors said Hernandez made multiple Facebook posts threatening to harm or kill three people who live out of Connecticut, including a state court judge.
Hernandez has pending charges in state court in Connecticut in connection with an incident outside ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, which happens to be his home town. DJ was arrested in March 2023 on misdemeanor breach of peace charges after police say he threw a bag containing a brick and a note over a fence and onto ESPN’s property before leaving.
‘To all media outlets, It’s about time you all realeyes 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,’ the note said, according to police.
Authorities said Hernandez was angry with people he believed were profiting from the death of his younger brother. Aaron Hernandez killed himself in 2017 while serving a murder sentence.
A former Bristol Central High and University of Florida star, Aaron was a star tight end for the New England Patriots before 2013, when he was first charged with murdering his friend Odin Lloyd.
Aaron had been acquitted of most charges in a separate double murder case just a few days before his 2017 death.
After his death, doctors found Hernandez had advanced chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease linked to head trauma.
The disease, which can be diagnosed only after death, has been found in more than 100 former NFL players and in dozens more athletes and members of the military who have been exposed to repetitive head trauma. The disease can lead to memory loss, depression and suicide.
Aaron Hernandez also suffered from paranoia in addition to his well-documented drug problems.
