A United States Olympian’s gold medal has been recovered after it was allegedly stolen by an Anaheim man last month.
Jordyn Poulter contacted police on May 25 and reported the loss of her medal during a vehicle burglary inside a parking garage on the 1500 block of East Lincoln Avenue.
Police began investigating and identified Jordan Fernandez, 31, as the suspect in the theft.
On June 7, detectives arrested Fernandez on suspicion of first degree residential burglary, second degree vehicle burglary, felony identity theft and felony possession of narcotics.
However they did not find the medal.
The 24-year-old Olympian, who was a member of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics women’s volleyball team, had been offering a $1,000 reward for the return of her gold, no questions asked.
On June 27, the owners of Noel Barbershop in Anaheim found a discarded plastic bag on their property. Upon examining the bag, they discovered it contained the missing gold medal, according to the Anaheim Police Department.
The owners of the business, Maria Carrillo and Noe Hernandez, contacted Anaheim Police to return it.
Detectives are currently coordinating to facilitate the return of the gold medal to the Olympian, the department said.
Poulter, a native of Aurora, Colorado, was a starting setter on the Olympics women’s volleyball team that defeated Brazil to win the nation’s first gold in the sport last August as part of the delayed 2020 games.
