BELLE GLADE MAN HELD IN ATTEMPTED MURDER
BELLE GLADE — A Belle Glade man once convicted of illegally shipping guns to former NFL player Aaron Hernandez was arrested this week in an alleged attempted murder.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office said Oscar Hernandez Jr., 27, fired shots at another man Tuesday afternoon outside a restaurant on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Hernandez was arrested the same day on one count each of attempted first-degree murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
During a court hearing in Belle Glade on Wednesday, Judge Peter Evans ordered that Hernandez be held without bond.
Hernandez previously gained national attention when he was accused of shipping guns from Florida to a Massachusetts address connected to Aaron Hernandez.
Aaron Hernandez, who played tight end for the New England Patriots and at the University of Florida, was convicted in 2015 in the June 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd in the Providence, R.I., suburb of North Attleboro, Mass.
Aaron Hernandez was sentenced to life in prison in 2015, but the sentence was vacated in May 2017, weeks after he died of an apparent suicide. Authorities say Aaron hanged himself in his prison cell. His death came days after he was acquitted of double murder charges in a separate case.
Oscar Hernandez, who is no relation to Aaron Hernandez, pleaded guilty in January 2015 to conspiring to transfer a firearm and other charges. He was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of supervised release.
He currently is on federal probation from that case, according to the sheriff’s report.
Prior to Oscar Hernandez’s arrest Tuesday, he was riding in a car driven by his girlfriend, authorities said. He allegedly targeted a 27-year-old man who has been accused of domestic violence in a past relationship with the woman.
Authorities say the couple approached Snapper’s, a restaurant just west of Main Street, when Hernandez pointed a shotgun out the passenger window and began firing shots.
Hernandez’s accuser told deputies that he grabbed a weapon and returned fire, then ran to a friend’s house, where he called 911, according to the sheriff ’s report.