Aaron Hernandez got into a fight with an inmate Tuesday at the Massachusetts jail where he has been held since his arrest in June, according to people with knowledge of the incident.
Hernandez, a Bristol native and former player with the New England Patriots, is being held without bail at the Bristol County House of Corrections in Dartmouth, Mass., accused in the shooting death of Odin Lloyd. Lloyd, a Dorchester man, was romantically involved with the sister of Hernandez’s fiancée.
Sources confirmed the altercation, first reported by TMZ, to The Courant, but did not provide further details about Hernandez’s involvement. The Bristol County Sheriff’s Office previously has said that Hernandez is being held in protective custody, isolated from other inmates who may target the former NFL star because of the high profile nature of his case.
Inmate disciplinary records are not public record, so it is not clear whether Tuesday’s incident was the former Patriot’s first brush with trouble during his incarceration. Sources could not provide information about the other inmate involved in the skirmish.
Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace, the Bristol men who authorities say were with Hernandez when he killed Lloyd, are being held at different jails in Massachusetts. Both are charged with accessory to murder after the fact.
Hernandez was indicted for murder and five illegal weapons counts, and also is a suspect in a 2012 double homicide in Boston. Alexander Bradley, the East Hartford man who was with Hernandez the night of the Boston shooting, has filed a civil lawsuit in Florida accusing Hernandez of shooting him in the eye in February 2013.
Bradley was arrested this month after he allegedly shot up the front of a Hartford nightclub. Citing Bradley’s incarceration, attorneys for both men Tuesday filed a joint motion asking the court to put civil proceedings on hold for four months.
By Jenny Wilson, Hartford Courant.