SANTA ANA, Calif.—A convicted robber pleaded not guilty on June 7 to stealing an Olympic volleyball player’s gold medal—which is still missing—in Anaheim.
Jordan Fernandez, 31, of Anaheim was arraigned in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana on two counts of burglary, two counts of identity theft, and bringing or sending a controlled substance into jail, all felonies. He was also charged with a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia, according to court records.
He was ordered to return to court on June 15 for a pretrial hearing in the North Justice Center in Fullerton.
Fernandez was arrested on June 3 and was being held without bail, according to jail records.
He had previously pleaded guilty on April 17, 2020, to a felony count of robbery and was sentenced to 120 days in jail and placed on three years of probation. He was jailed again in the case for 60 days on Jan. 27 of this year for violating terms of probation.
The medal belonging to Jordyn Poulter was stolen on May 25, according to Sgt. Jacob Gallacher of the Anaheim Police Department. The medal is still missing and Poulter was offering a $1,000 reward for its return with no questions asked.
Poulter won the medal last year at the Tokyo Olympics originally scheduled for 2020. The setter had parked her vehicle in a garage on East Lincoln Avenue in the city at about 3:15 p.m. on May 25. By the time she returned to her unlocked car at about 6 p.m., several items were missing, Gallacher said.
Anyone who might have information about the medal’s whereabouts was asked to call police at 714-765-1900 or Orange County Crime Stoppers, which accepts anonymous tips, at 855-TIP-OCCS.
