Stalker Bob Hernandez Needs To Stay In Jail: Glasgow's Prosecutors

JOLIET, IL — On Friday morning, one of Will County's most prolific criminal defense lawyers, Jeff Tomczak, rode the escalator up to the second floor of the Will County Courthouse to enter his appearance for stalking and crack cocaine defendant Robert "Bob" Hernandez, but there was no Hernandez in Courtroom 202.

Tomczak informed Will County Judge Donald DeWilkins that he just found out that his new client had another medical issue, this time at the Will County Jail, and that the 62-year-old Hernandez was hospitalized, once again, back at the Ascension St. Joe's Hospital.

Tomczak had no idea what the latest medical issue was for his client, and Judge DeWilkins rescheduled the Hernandez court appearance for this Sunday morning. If Hernandez remains at St. Joe's, the case will be pushed further back, the judge noted.

Hernandez requested his first ambulance ride to St. Joe's hospital right as Joliet police officers were booking him into custody on Valentine Day's, his second Joliet police arrest on felony crimes in less than three weeks. His second ambulance ride happened Thursday night or early Friday morning, this time from his detention cell block at 95 South Chicago St.

At Friday's 9 a.m. hearing in Courtroom 202, there were two men sitting together in the courtroom for the case and one was the defendant's father, George Hernandez, who previously served on the city of Joliet's police and fire board during Bob O'Dekirk's time as mayor of Joliet.

Also, the Will County State's Attorney of Jim Glasgow intends to make sure that Bob Hernandez remains in custody for an indefinite period of time.

According to the petition to deny pretrial release for Hernandez, prosecutor Tricia McKenna outlined the following events surrounding the latest crack cocaine arrest for Hernandez, who now faces felony drug cases and a total of four charges overall.

His charges include violation of a stalking no contact order, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Hernandez also has a separate felony case of possession of a controlled substance stemming from his Friday night, Jan. 26 arrest by Joliet police in the Reedwood neighborhood following his work shift at the Walmart store on Jefferson Street.

According to the denial for pretrial release petition:

At 12:30 p.m. on Valentine's Day, Joliet police officer Campos was sitting outside a house on South Reed, which is a protected address in the Feb. 2 order of protection taken out against Hernandez and served on him that same day at the Walmart store. The stalking no-contact order identifies three people and the house and on South Reed.

In any event, on Tuesday, police said Officer Campos saw Hernandez in his new vehicle driving down Reed toward him, on the other side of Jefferson.

At least one of the named petitioners in the order of protection was home at the time. As Hernandez approached Jefferson, police say the officer saw him look at the protected residence and then turn.

Hernandez's location was 263 feet from the house and the OP prohibited him from being within 1,000 feet, according to documents.

The officer stopped Hernandez's vehicle, and he was placed under arrest for violating the no contact order.

During an inventory search of the car, officials say a white rock like substance was found under the passenger seat on the floorboard. It weighed .04 grams and tested positive for cocaine.

A glass pipe with residue was also located within the Jeep, police said.

Documents indicate Hernandez told Joliet police that he was driving to take his mind off of things, and gave a number of places he went that would not have put him on Reed Street.

He then stated he was going to go to Boost Mobile, which is conveniently near the victims' residence, but he missed his tum and kept driving. He was then going to turn but missed his turn again. He was upset because his lawyer didn't show up in court, court documents show.

"He stated he wasn't on 'their' (the victims') side of the street," McKenna informed the judge.

According to Glasgow's team of prosecutors trying to keep Hernandez locked away from society, Flock camera hits would further demonstrate that Hernandez's vehicle was within 1,000 feet of the protected parties' address on three different occasions on Feb. 10.

"Those violations are not charged at this time, but such evidence further demonstrates the non-accidental violation in this case," McKenna wrote. "The defendant poses a real and present threat to the named protected parties in the Stalking No Contact Order in 2024 OP 294 as well as the community as evidenced by his persistent attempts to make contact with the residence."

McKenna's petition to Judge DeWilkins ends by declaring, "the People pray that this Honorable Court deny the defendant pretrial release."