Throughout the entire Aaron Hernandez murder investigation, people have wondered what exactly the New England Patriots knew about their former tight end’s life off the football field. It has become obvious that Hernandez hung around with a shady crowd and did his best to continue living the life of a thug, but to what extent were the Patriots aware of his indiscretions?
In a lengthy Rolling Stone piece that examine’s Hernandez’s life since childhood, Bill Belichick’s alleged knowledge of the 23-year-old’s crumbling personal life becomes a bit more clear. This past spring, before Odin Lloyd was shot and killed, Belichick had reportedly warned Hernandez that he was down to his final strike with the team.
Rolling Stone’s Paul Solotaroff claims Belichick was made aware of a domestic dispute at Hernandez’s Hermosa Beach, Calif. rental in March, where police were called after Hernandez allegedly put his fist through a window. No arrest was made, but Belichick reportedly “exploded” on Hernandez and told him he would be traded or cut at the end of the 2013 if he didn’t shape up.
In February, prior to the Hermosa Beach incident, Hernandez had reportedly flown to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis to confide in Belichick that he believed his life was in danger. A source told Solotaroff that Hernandez explained to Belichick that he was worried a group of gangsters he had befriended were “trying to kill him.”
According to a close Hernandez associate, Belichick advised the former Florida Gator to rent a safe house and lay low for a while. It is believed that he followed the advice by later renting an apartment in Franklin, Mass., though I highly doubt Belichick envisioned it becoming the so called “flophouse” where investigators seized several pieces of evidence after being led there by Carlos Oritz.
As we shared with you on Tuesday, the Rolling Stone article also claimed Hernandez was a heavy angel dust user who carried a gun around with him for safety. One friend of Hernandez’s family speculated that his use of angel dust, which can alter a person’s mentality, led to his paranoia.
“Don’t matter what it’s about: Aaron’s out of his mind,” the friend said. “He’s been twisted on dust now for more than a year, which is when all of this crazy sh– started.”
Previous reports have indicated that Hernandez had gang ties and feared for his life, so that seems to be a common theme. Whether or not his alleged drug use made those fears too much to handle remains a mystery.
