Sumith Prasad
FX’s crime drama series ‘American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez’ begins with Aaron Hernandez shooting down a friend named Sherrod. The football player then leaves the person to die on the street and drives away, believing the latter is dead. The attempted murder victim eventually calls the shooter and swears to exact vengeance. The first episode of the show implies that Aaron tries to kill the man to bury “what happened in Boston” without revealing the secret he wants to protect. In reality, Sherrod is known as Alexander Bradley among the football player’s followers and true crime enthusiasts!
Alexander “Sherrod” Bradley Testified Against Aaron Hernandez During the 2012 Boston Double Homicide Trial
Alexander “Sherrod” Bradley described himself as Aaron Hernandez’s best friend, who supplied the football player with marijuana. The conversations between the two, released by the authorities, reveal that the NFL star found them “inseparable” and called the other his “brother.” He testified in court that he used to be a drug dealer until 2014. When Aaron was charged with the double homicide of Daniel Jorge Correia de Abreu and Safiro Teixeira Furtado, Bradley was the prosecution’s star witness. He testified that the two best friends visited a nightclub called Cure in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 15, 2012, only for Daniel to spill his drink on the football player.
As per Bradley’s testimony, he followed Daniel and his companions’ car, because of Aaron’s insistence, in their Toyota 4Runner. He accused the football player of firing five shots into the other car, resulting in the deaths of Daniel and Safiro. When the trial of the case progressed, the prosecution introduced Bradley upon giving him immunity. Aaron’s attorney, Jose Baez, accused him of being a “killer” who was pinning the homicides on the football player. The lawyer described his immunity agreement as the “deal of a lifetime.” The trial ended with the jury finding Aaron not guilty of killing Daniel and Safiro.
Alexander “Sherrod” Bradley Accused Aaron Hernandez of Trying to Silence Him as a Witness
Alexander Bradley further testified that Aaron Hernandez became increasingly paranoid after the homicides of Daniel Jorge Correia de Abreu and Safiro Teixeira Furtado. According to him, the football player had nightmares and asked his friends not to use iPhones, believing the Apple product recorded every call conversation. “He [Aaron] assumed everybody was a detective. His paranoia was heightened,” he testified in 2017. Bradley accused the football player of trying to kill him after he referred to the double homicides as “the stupid [expletive] you did in Boston.” In February 2013, as per his testimony, he joined Aaron and two others in a car after visiting a strip club in Miami, Florida.
Bradley testified that he slept in the car, only to see “Mr. Hernandez pointing a gun in my face” when he woke up. He accused Aaron of shooting him down to eliminate him as the witness to the Boston double homicides. As per his testimony, the football player shot him between his eyes, pushed him from the car, and left him to die. He added during the trial that his right eye is prosthetic. After he was recovered from the scene, Bradley didn’t disclose Aaron’s name to the authorities, adding that he “wanted [to take] Mr. Hernandez’s life” himself.
“He [Aaron] was definitely surprised when he heard from me. He definitely didn’t think I was alive still,” Bradley said during the trial. A month later, in March 2013, Bradley demanded compensation from Aaron for remaining silent about the incidents, as per their text messages. In their exchanges, Bradley told the football player that he was trying to “resolve” the issue “quietly” for the latter’s sake. However, Aaron denied trying to kill him in the messages, adding that at the end of the day, he would always love the latter. The football player was not convicted of attempted murder or witness intimidation.
Alexander “Sherrod” Bradley Was on Special Parole Until Early 2024
Three years before Alexander Bradley testified against Aaron Hernandez, in February 2014, he was arrested for opening fire in front of a bar called Vevo Lounge on Meadow Street in Hartford, Connecticut. At the time, he was shot by a man named Leslie Randolph, who disputed with the former over a financial matter. After getting shot, Bradley produced a gun from his car and tried to enter the bar. When the bouncers stopped him, he fired around eleven rounds in front of the establishment. After his arrest, he was imprisoned. Bradley testified against Aaron while he was in prison.
In January 2017, a Superior Court judge sentenced Bradley to five years in prison. The sentence included the three years he had already served before the verdict was announced in relation to the case. In addition to the time in prison, he was also sentenced to five years of special parole. “I’m not the same person I was three years ago. It was a tumultuous time in my life. I was going through some traumatic events,” he told the judge. In August 2017, he sued the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, accusing the officers of violating his privacy by providing his photographs of recovering in a West Palm Beach hospital after Aaron allegedly shot him.
Bradley’s prison sentence seemingly concluded in 2019. His special parole lasted until January 11, 2024, and the conditions of the same limited his life to Hartford, Connecticut. However, he disappeared from the spotlight right after Aaron was found not guilty of killing Daniel Jorge Correia de Abreu and Safiro Teixeira Furtado. He hasn’t been using any prominent social media platforms in his name. Since he hasn’t returned to the spotlight since 2017, we believe that he hasn’t been involved in any crimes after leaving prison. Through ‘American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez,’ Bradley will once again be subjected to the intrigue of true crime enthusiasts considering the part he played in Aaron’s life.
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