D.J. Hernandez -- the older brother of Aaron Hernandez -- has been arrested after missing a court date in his ESPN brick-throwing case ... TMZ Sports has learned.
The 37-year-old former Division I football player turned himself into the Bristol Police Department at around 7 AM on Friday ... after authorities issued a warrant for his arrest following his no-show in court earlier this month.
Aaron Hernandez's Bro Misses Court Date In ESPN Brick Case, Arrest Ordered
According to police documents, D.J. was placed in handcuffs at the station ... before he was booked on a charge of failure to appear.
At one point during processing and fingerprinting, he took a mug shot ... where he was seen smiling ear-to-ear.
We broke the story, D.J. was originally hit with one misdemeanor charge of breach of peace in the case back in March ... after authorities alleged he threw a brick at ESPN's headquarters.
Officials accused D.J. of writing a note on the object that read, in part, "It's about time you all realeyes the affect media has on all family members."
"Since you're a world wide leader maybe you could lead how media and messages are delivered brick by brick. Clean it up!"
D.J. was slated to have a hearing in the case on July 7 ... but he didn't appear, leading to the warrant. He's now due back in court for further proceedings next week.