Dennis John “DJ” Hernandez, 38, who is the brother of the late New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez, was sentenced to 18 months in prison Friday. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release during which he must undergo mental health and substance abuse treatment. He suffered severe mental health problems when he made the threats, according to an ESPN article.
Hernandez, originally from Bristol, Conn., had made threats of a school shooting at the University of Connecticut and threatened to kill three people, which he pleaded guilty to in December 2024, according to Channel 3 Eyewitness News. The threats took place in July 2023, when he was allegedly seen planning shootings at UConn and Brown University campuses. The incident marked his fourth arrest that year.
According to ESPN, Hernandez was a student at UConn and played as the school’s quarterback and wide receiver in the mid-2000s. He was a two-year team captain and spent three years as the football team’s quarterback, according to UConn’s 2008 Football Roster. He also coached at Brown University, according to Channel 3.
An ex-girlfriend of Hernandez reportedly told Bristol Police that he had driven to the two universities’ campuses to “map the schools out” because he was planning to do a “school shooting,” adding that he went into numerous classrooms and buildings on the UConn Storrs campus, Channel 3 stated.
According to his arrest warrant, police were aware of threatening texts referencing UConn that Hernandez sent to the ex-girlfriend and a family member. One text began, “UConn program is going to pay unless I have a package deal and I get my estate and every single thing I have worked for. The coaches and university officials want to be selfish and selective…well I am too. Very. They are going to get surprised.”
UConn Police had then claimed that despite the texts there was “no imminent threat to the university,” according to Channel 3. Hernandez was taken to the hospital and then held on a $250,000 bond at the Bristol Police Department before being handed over to the Department of Correction.
In 2014, DJ Hernandez’s brother and Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was convicted of murder in Massachusetts and faced a life sentence. He was found hanged in his prison cell and his death was pronounced a suicide in 2017, according to a CNN article.
The University of Connecticut did not immediately respond to comment.