Stalking No-Contact Order Imposed On Robert Hernandez By Judge

JOLIET, IL— In addition to being arrested by Joliet police in connection with allegations of possessing crack cocaine in his car, ex-Joliet Housing Authority commissioner Robert "Bob" Hernandez now finds himself facing more legal matters in court.

Last Friday night, Joliet police visited Hernandez at his place of employment and served him with a stalking no-contact order. Hernandez is prohibited from having any contact with a 36-year-old Joliet woman and her teenage children, ages 17 and 19.

Will County Judge Tom Slazyk granted the emergency order of protection against the 62-year-old Hernandez, who works at the Walmart on Jefferson Street and lives in the 800 block of Westminster Road. In late January, Hernandez's car was impounded by Joliet's Police Department and officers had a search warrant to seize the two cell phones belonging to Hernandez, according to Joliet police officials. Police also seized $220 cash at his Jan. 26 arrest, according to court documents filed last week.

Hernandez's 2014 Chrysler 200 remains in a secure police impound lot in Joliet, and it will be the subject of a court hearing on Feb. 14.

According to the emergency stalking petition approved by Judge Slazyk, the woman outlined the following events as the basis for keeping Hernandez away from her children:

Joliet Patch is not identifying them in this story since both are teenagers.

According to her stalking no-contact petition, on Jan. 6, her son and her daughter were walking to the McDonald's on West Jefferson Street and "Robert followed them and parked at Consumers" Liquors across the street. "Robert was flashing his car headlights to get (their) attention. He proceeded to yell at them, 'Come here.' Robert told (my son) that 'he had something for him.'"

The woman informed Judge Slayzk in her filing that her son and daughter walked to Hernandez's car and "Robert gave (her son) a cellphone for both of them to use and get a hold of him."

The previous day, Jan. 5, Hernandez had parked in a business lot on Jefferson Street at 1:15 a.m. and "I was informed by the Joliet Police Department sergeant that he was sitting in the car in the parking lot watching my house," the woman wrote the judge.

The week prior, on Dec. 29, a Joliet police officer visited the woman at the gas station where she works "to notify me that Robert was sitting in another business's parking lot across the street, and he was facing me and watching me. The officer told me he would sit for an hour to see if anything happens and to see how long Robert will stay watching me," her petition indicated. "After that hour, the officer had told him to leave. I knew it was Robert because I know the car he drives. This made me very uncomfortable and it scares me."

Furthermore, on another occasion in January, "Joliet police officers saw Robert in his car circling my neighborhood multiple times. Those officers had informed myself and my household members," the woman's petition indicated.

And back in October, "Robert was in his car at the Walgreens parking lot ... My fiancé went over by Robert with his phone recording. He had asked Robert what he was doing and why he was by our house," the woman wrote the judge. "My fiancé also told Robert to leave our children alone. Robert stuttered and did not say much after this confrontation. Robert's reaction to this is on video. Robert had left the Walgreens parking lot after this."

According to the woman's filing, on an "ongoing" basis in "my neighborhood, my children met Robert while walking and Robert ... offered them a ride while having money visible on his lap. Since this initial contact, Robert has been seen engaging in sexually abusive and exploitation conduct with my children ... I have told him to stay away from my children, but Robert continues to be persistent on seeing my children.

"I fear for the safety of myself, my children and my household," the mother wrote Judge Slazyk. She also informed the judge that last July 29, "Robert was constantly texting me about a charger and asking about my son ... There were five messages in a row if (he) was awake and if he was home. I thought it was odd that Robert kept asking about my son."

Judge Slazyk's order against Hernandez prohibits the Joliet resident from visiting the woman's house, the gas station where she works and Joliet Central High School. In addition to that, Joliet Patch previously reported that Hernandez was notified by Joliet police officers that he could face criminal trespassing charges if he continued to show up at the CSL Plasma business along West Jefferson Street.

Police officers notified him in January that he is no longer allowed on that property.

A hearing on extending the stalking no-contact order against Hernandez is set for Feb. 22 in Courtroom 603.

In related news, a GoFundMe fund-raiser with a $10,000 goal was launched Wednesday night, listing Robert Hernandez as the organizer.

Hernandez called the GoFundMe: "To Help Pay For Medical Bills and My Lawyer." However, after others began drawing negative attention to it on social media, the GoFundMe was taken down.

Earlier in the day, RightWay Auto Sales, 1705 West Jefferson Street in Joliet, posted a photo of Hernandez standing in front of a banana-yellow colored Jeep on its Facebook page, announcing, "Congratulations to Robert from Joliet on buying a New 2015 Jeep Renegade at RightWay!"

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Ex-Joliet Housing Authority Commissioner Bob Hernandez Arrested