Patriot's Accuser Is Ex-Con Who Dealt Cocaine

JUNE 20--The Connecticut man who has accused football star Aaron Hernandez of shooting him in the face is a convicted felon who spent time in prison for cocaine distribution and who was arrested on a felony burglary charge two months after losing an eye in the gun incident for which he has fingered the athlete.

In a federal lawsuit, Alexander Bradley, 30, alleges that Hernandez shot him after they partied at a Florida strip club on February 13.

Bradley, a longtime resident of East Hartford, Connecticut, is seen in the below mug shot, which was snapped two months ago. Hernandez is from Bristol, Connecticut, about 20 miles from Bradley’s residence.

In the wake of a police search of Hernandez’s Massachusetts home in connection with a murder probe, Sports Illustrated yesterday reported that “alleged gang activity of some of Hernandez's associates in his native Bristol, Conn” was a concern of several NFL teams in advance of the 2010 draft. Additionally, Hernandez’s admitted use of marijuana in college contributed to him falling to the fourth round in that year’s draft.

A lawyer for Bradley has described his client as a friend of Hernandez who has been paid to do chores for the 23-year-old New England Patriots star, who last year signed a five-year, $37.5 million contract extension that included a $12.5 million signing bonus.

In its story on Hernandez, Sports Illustrated cited a law enforcement source who “reiterated concerns about [Hernandez’s] circle of influence.” While the members of Hernandez’s posse have not been identified, his relationship with Bradley would likely raise concerns with Patriots and NFL officials.

Asked yesterday if his client had a criminal history, Bradley’s lawyer replied, “Not that I’m aware.” Court records, however, show that Bradley has been collared on numerous occasions--for narcotics sales, drunk driving, assault, burglary, criminal mischief, driving with a suspended license, and disorderly conduct. At least two of Bradley’s cases were adjudicated in a Bristol, Connecticut court.

Bradley was arrested in March 2006 for cocaine distribution, a felony for which he later pleaded guilty. Though sentenced to five years in prison, Bradley only had to serve 18 months in custody. Upon his release in December 2007, Bradley began serving a five-year probation term.

According to a police report, Bradley was targeted by East Central Narcotics Task Force officers who raided his home and seized cocaine, marijuana, cash, plastic baggies, and packaging material. Following his arrest, Bradley said that he began dealing cocaine after being laid off eight months earlier from his job with Stanley Steamers. “Bradley said that once you begin that ‘lifestyle.’ referring to the drug money lifestyle, ‘it is difficult to go back,’” cops noted.

The narcotics trade was so lucrative, police reported, “Bradley admitted that he lets his unemployment checks stack up because of the drug sales he makes.” When asked if he also sold marijuana, Bradley told investigators that he did not, though he described himself as a “weed-head” who frequently smoked pot.

Bradley’s most recent arrest came in April, after he allegedly showed up “heavily intoxicated” at the Connecticut home of a 28-year-old former girlfriend (with whom he has a five-year-old daughter). A Hartford Police Department report notes that Bradley “broke through the rear kitchen door” in a “fit of rage.”

The victim told cops that Bradley slapped her in the face after grabbing her cell phone and “going through it and discovering names of other male friends.” The “agitated” Bradley told officers that he was upset that the woman was “speaking to other men while his daughter was nearby.”

Charged with felony burglary and several misdemeanors, Bradley was booked into the Hartford Police Detention Facility and later released on his own recognizance. He is scheduled for a July 2 court appearance.

The other case on Bradley’s court docket is the federal negligence lawsuit he filed this month against Hernandez. 

Bradley alleges that Hernandez “caused” an unlicensed handgun “to go off while aiming it” at him inside a vehicle on February 13. The pair (and two other male passengers) were driving to Palm Beach from Miami, where they had partied earlier at “Tootsie’s,” an upscale strip joint (seen above).

The gunshot resulted in the loss of Bradley’s right eye and other serious injuries, according to the U.S. District Court complaint, which reports that Bradley and Hernandez “had an argument” while at the gentlemen’s club.

When questioned by cops after the shooting, Bradley--who was found bleeding in a Riviera Beach alley--refused to cooperate, effectively forcing investigators to shelve the shooting case. While never mentioning Hernandez, Bradley claimed at one point that his assailants were “both Hispanic and black males.” (8 pages)