Man who claims he was shot by ex-NFL star Hernandez arrested

Richard Valdmanis
Aaron Hernandez, former player for the NFL's New England Patriots football team, stands during his arraignment in the Bristol County Superior Court in Fall River, Massachusetts September 6, 2013, on murder and weapons charges in connection with the killing of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd in June. REUTERS/Jonathan Wiggs/Pool

By Richard Valdmanis BOSTON (Reuters) - A man who says he was shot in the face by Aaron Hernandez, an ex-NFL star jailed on separate murder charges, was arrested on Friday for skipping a court appearance last month, the U.S. Marshals Service said. Alexander Bradley was captured in Hartford, Connecticut, after more than three weeks on the run and was scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court Friday afternoon, U.S. Marshals Service Supervisor Andrew Tingley said. A Hartford Superior Court judge had ordered Bradley's arrest after he failed to show up for a September 10 hearing on whether he should be compelled to testify in a Massachusetts double-murder probe targeting Hernandez. Massachusetts authorities believe Bradley may have information related to the drive-by killing of Daniel Abreu and Safiro Furtado in Boston in July 2012, a source familiar with the case said on condition of anonymity. Bradley's lawyer, David Jaroslawicz, was not immediately available to comment. Bradley, a former friend of Hernandez, filed a civil suit in June against the former New England Patriots tight end alleging that he shot him in the face last February in Florida after a late-night dispute. No criminal charges were filed in the case because Bradley refused to cooperate with Florida police. Hernandez is in jail awaiting trial on murder and firearms charges in the death of another man, Odin Lloyd, a friend of Hernandez who died in June. Authorities allege that Hernandez orchestrated the execution-style murder of Lloyd, a semi-pro football player whose bullet-riddled body was found less than a mile from Hernandez's house in southern Massachusetts. Hernandez was arrested June 26 and was cut by the Patriots within hours. He has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer did not respond to requests for comment. Jake Wark, a spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office in Massachusetts, declined to comment on Bradley or the alleged links to Hernandez. He said there are no official suspects in the 2012 Boston double murder. (Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Leslie Adler)