02/07/25 03:26:00
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02/07 15:24 CST Aaron Hernandez's brother sentenced to time served in shooting
threats case
Aaron Hernandez's brother sentenced to time served in shooting threats case
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) --- The brother of the late New England Patriots tight end
Aaron Hernandez was sentenced Friday to 18 months of prison time already served
for threatening to carry out a shooting at the University of Connecticut and to
kill three people including a judge in 2023.
Dennis Hernandez, 38, who went by "DJ" while playing quarterback and wide
receiver for UConn football in the mid-2000s, was suffering severe mental
health problems at the time of the threats and has since been receiving
treatment and taking medication, according to his public defender, Josh Ewing.
U.S. District Judge Sarala Nagala in Hartford also sentenced Hernandez to three
years of supervised release, during which he must continue mental health and
substance abuse treatment, allow probation officials to monitor his electronic
devices and stay away from UConn and other locations he threatened, the
Connecticut U.S. attorney's office said.
Hernandez, who apologized for his actions during brief comments in court, was
expected to be released from custody on Friday afternoon, The Hartford Courant
reported.
State criminal charges in Connecticut and Florida in other cases --- including
allegations he threw a brick with a note critical of the media attached onto
ESPN headquarters property in Bristol, Connecticut --- are expected to be
dismissed because of the federal case, Ewing said, adding that those incidents
happened during the same mental health crisis.
Ewing did not immediately return phone and email messages after the sentencing.
In court documents, he wrote that Hernandez was "horrified" at how his actions
terrified others, is remorseful and is committed to maintaining his mental
health.
Hernandez pleaded guilty to a felony --- transmitting interstate communications
containing a threat to injure --- in December.
Police said he drove 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 in July 2023. Court filings said Hernandez was struggling
financially, was frustrated at seeing other people get hired as football
coaches and felt owed by UConn.
Also that month, prosecutors said Hernandez made multiple Facebook posts
threatening to harm or kill three people who live in other states, including a
state court judge.
His mother, Terri Hernandez, told police around the time of his 2023 arrest in
Bristol that he had deteriorating mental health problems including bipolar
disorder and schizophrenia. Dennis Hernandez was shocked with a Taser 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.
Terri Hernandez and several other relatives and friends wrote letters to the
judge supporting Dennis Hernandez asking that he be released from detention.
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