Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end in prison after pleading not guilty to murder in the shooting death of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd, was involved in an altercation with another inmate at the Bristol County House of Correction in Dartmouth, but neither man required medical attention, a Massachusetts sheriff said Wednesday.
The altercation took place Tuesday in a common area of the facility, where only one inmate at a time is supposed to be out of his cell, Sheriff Thomas Hodgson said.
Hodgson said jail staff are interviewing witnesses and reviewing surveillance video to figure out what happened and determine whether disciplinary measures or criminal charges are warranted.
“An altercation took place between two inmates, and one of them was Aaron Hernandez,” Hodgson told ABC News. “We will be studying video and proceeding with interviews to determine why and how the incident took place to determine whether internal discipline or criminal charges are warranted.”
The jail also is reviewing procedures to learn how the inmates were permitted out of their cells at the same time.
“It was very brief,” Hodgson said. “The officers were right there, and it was stopped within seconds, maybe a minute.”
Hodgson did not release the other inmate’s name and said he did not know of any previous tension between the two.
“We don’t know what, if any, relationship there was or has been at any point, either here or anywhere else,” Hodgson said.
Both Hernandez and the other inmate have been moved to other units until the investigation is completed.
