Back in March, 37-year-old Dennis “D.J.” Hernandez was arrested on misdemeanor breach of peace charges. Those charges came after Hernandez was accused of taking an Uber to ESPN’s Bristol, Connecticut headquarters, being turned away at the gate, getting out, and throwing a brick with a handwritten note complaining about media coverage, likely in reference to his brother Aaron (who was convicted of murder in 2015 and found dead in his cell in 2017, with that death ruled a suicide). Hernandez was released after that arrest with a promise to show up for a July 7 court date, but he missed that date last week. And now, the court has issued an order for his arrest:
A judge has ordered the re-arrest of Aaron Hernandez’s brother, Dennis, after he failed to appear in court last week on charges related to throwing a brick at the ESPN campus in Bristol, Connecticut.https://t.co/PGBiRyf1mm
— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) July 11, 2023
Here’s more from that AP story, by Pat Eaton-Robb:
A judge has ordered the re-arrest of Aaron Hernandez’s brother, Dennis, after he failed to appear in court last week on charges related to throwing a brick at the ESPN campus in Bristol, Connecticut.
The 37-year-old, who was known as DJ Hernandez when he played quarterback and wide receiver at UConn in the mid-2000s, was originally arrested in March. Police said he went to ESPN in a car, possibly an Uber, and threw a bag containing a brick and a note over a fence and onto the property before leaving.
It was quite the note indeed:
“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.”
Around that March arrest, Bristol police announced that they had been asked to perform a wellness check on Hernandez the previous week after receiving an anonymous complaint saying Hernandez planned to smash windows at ESPN and at the state capitol.
The charge here is only a misdemeanor, but skipping the appearance on it could come with some consequences for Hernandez. It’s unclear where he is at the moment. No lawyers are listed for him in court records, and Eaton-Robb didn’t receive a response to requests for comment sent to Hernandez’s various email addresses. We’ll see what comes of this.
The National Suicide Hotline can be reached at *988 or 1-800-784-2433.
