Bob Hernandez Wins Release From Will County's Jail, Judge Connor Rules

JOLIET, IL — On the one-month anniversary of his detention at the Will County Jail, 62-year-old Bob Hernandez was wheeled out of Will County Courthouse Room 403 after learning that his days of being incarcerated at the detention facility are coming to an end.

On Thursday morning, Judge John Connor ruled in favor of his defense lawyer, Jeff Tomczak. As a result of Hernandez's current medical situation, the Will County Jail is no longer the best place for the Joliet felony defendant; he will return to his father's house in the 800 block of Westminster Road where he will remain under home confinement and strict GPS monitoring, Judge Connor ruled.

At 2:39 p.m., Hernandez exited the Will County Jail after spending an entire month in the custody of Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley.

"I would submit ... he's wheelchair bound, that he does not drive in any shape or form," Tomczak argued during Thursday's hearing on the pretrial detention release for his client. "It's not the same guy that went in under the SAFE-T-Act. This individual is no longer mobile. These (medical) reports all indicate a need for ... outpatient therapy."

Tomczak presented the judge with volumes of medical evidence regarding his client's worsening health conditions since Joliet police arrested Hernandez for a second time, on Valentine's Day, over at the Fenton Motel parking lot. Hernandez was found with crack cocaine and a used drug pipe inside his new banana yellow Jeep on Feb. 14, according to court records.

Minutes earlier, Joliet police and the FBI saw Hernandez cruising around Reed and Jefferson Street trying to find the teenage boy who was the subject of a previous order of protection that was entered against Hernandez, according to court documents.

As of Thursday, Hernandez has two separate felony crack cocaine cases in Judge Connor's courtroom, as well as the violation of the stalking no-contact order.

In announcing his order for ending Hernandez's detention, Judge Connor quoted former President Ronald Reagan, who once remarked, "Trust, but verify." The judge said that Tomczak's original motion for his client's release was nothing more than "double hearsay."

Now, Tomczak presented reams of documented medical reports, including CT scans, concerning Hernandez's apparent stroke and an aneurysm as well as other lingering health problems.

In addition to remaining under house arrest at his father's house and being placed on GPS monitoring, Judge Connor announced that Bob Hernandez will undergo random drug testing every two weeks and that Hernandez will not be notified in advance of any testing.

Furthermore, Hernandez will not be allowed to drive a car, the judge announced. Connor noted that Hernandez's "inability to walk" indicates that "he does not pose the same threat."

The next hearings for Hernandez's criminal cases was set for late May.