The Stalker: Rick Fernandez’s Guilty Plea

Breaking News: Rick Fernandez Guilty Plea

Speaker: Hey everyone, it's me, Javier. You know, I came down with a really nasty bug this week. It knocked me out for several days and completely threw my schedule off. So I'm not gonna have the next series ready for you this week, but. The podcast Gods have come through like they always do, and we have some breaking news. In the stalker case. Rick Fernandez just pled guilty. Rick Fernandez just took a guilty plea today. Rick Fernandez just took a guilty plea this week for harassment. That's right. Harassment based off of the new activity that we discussed in our previous stalker episodes. For those of you who may not recall. Rick Fernandez was writing a book about the doctor and her husband even doxed them and published their real names and some really sensitive information to this book While he was awaiting trial for the three felonies that he had against him. Now a notable mention here that Tanya Fernandez was not. Um, now notable mention here is that Tanya Fernandez was not charged with any additional charges. So that's why. We are only talking about Rick today. So what does this mean? Rick admitted guilt instead of going to trial, right? So he took a guilt. So by pleading guilty, he accepted responsibility for the harassment charges. Now remember, these are for the new. Harassment charges concerning the book and all that stuff that happened while they were awaiting trial. This does not mean that he pled guilty to the original felony charges, which were. You know, sending the fake messages, the IP address, all that stuff from the original series of the stalker. We still don't know who really was the stalker. Was it, was it Tanya? Was it Rick, whatever? Was it one of the kids? We, we still don't know, and this doesn't answer that, but we know that this week Rick took responsibility for this new wave of harassment. And so what were the consequences for that? Well, he got sentenced to a hundred days. Well, he got sentenced to 180 days suspended. So what does that mean? He was sentenced to 180 days in jail. But that sentence, so what does that mean? So what does that mean? Does Rick go to jail? Well, it means that he was sentenced to 180 days in jail, but the sentence is quote unquote suspended. That means he doesn't actually serve the jail time. Now, as long as he follows the rules of his probation. if he violates probation, that suspended sentence can be activated and he would have to serve that time. So three years probation instead of jail, he'll be supervised During this time, he has to follow specific conditions set by the court. So that means no contact with the victims directly, nor can he try to get messages that, nor can he try to get message to them through other people. And if he does. Nor can he try to get messages to them through other people. If he does. That alone violates his probation. And if he breaks the no contact rule or any other probation conditions, two things happen. He violates probation, which could trigger the suspended 180 day jail sentence. On top of that, he could face new criminal charges for any new offenses. So in plain terms, he admitted guilt. So now we have a conclusion to this never ending saga. Rick admitted guilt. He got suspended jail sentence and will be on probation for the next three years if he tries to contact the victims. Um, all right, the question is. The question is, will he follow his probation orders? I mean, last time he was facing three felonies, he was continuing the harassment. So I don't know. You guys tell me and and Spotify and Patreon, what do you think? Will Rick stick to his, will Rick stop the harassment or will he keep going? I wanted to ask somebody who you haven't heard from in a long time, but I've been keeping in touch with this entire time, and her name is Olivia Fernandez, Rick Fernandez's sister, and I wanted to see what she had to say about all this. My call with Olivia after the break.

Javier: Hey Olivia. How's it going?

Olivia Fernandez: Hi Javier. How's it going?

Javier: Good. Long time. No talk.

Olivia Fernandez: I know how you been?

Javier: Good, good. Can you hear me okay?

Olivia Fernandez: Yep. Yeah.

Javier: Okay, cool. I just wasn't sure 'cause this recording software has been giving me some trouble lately.

Olivia Fernandez: Uh, no, I can hear you just fine.

Javier: Oh, cool. All right. So the problem is that I hear myself, hang on one second.

Speaker: Lemme see if I can figure it out. Um, no, I still, hello? Hello? Hello? Nope, I still hear off. Um. Gosh, hang on one second. It used to work perfectly and now it's, well, I'll just power through it. I don't know why it's me. No, it's not you. It's it's me. I'm sure it's, it's a stupid software. Lemme see. All right. No, I can't figure it out. So, Olivia, I'm recording this, by the way. Okay. Yeah. So tell me, what was your reaction to the news yesterday?

Olivia Fernandez: Um, I'm just really happy about it. I, I wish it would've been jail, of course, and I wish it would've been Tanya, but, um, I'm sure next time they mess up and we know they will. It, it'll be jail time then, because they're not gonna keep putting up with them.

Speaker: So,

Javier: yeah. And I

Olivia Fernandez: think, but yeah, I was pretty happy about it.

Javier: I think people are gonna be surprised that you're happy about it because that's your brother, right? Like, explain those complicated feelings. Yeah.

Olivia Fernandez: Um, I really miss my brother so much, but he's not who he used to be. Um, I don't know. We haven't talked in years and the last time we did speak it, it just wasn't pleasant.

Speaker: And it is just, it's sad. It's really sad. I miss my brother a lot.

Javier: Yeah. And, and you know, at the beginning of this whole thing, when we first started talking, I would've never imagined that Rick Fernandez, out of all of them, was gonna be the one that was gonna fall on the sword.

Olivia Fernandez: I know, I know. It's sad. Rick was so smart, like, I don't know, Tanya happened and, and it, she ruined everything.

Speaker: She ruined everything about Rick.

Javier: Yeah. Okay. Hang on. I was trying to mess up. That's just my view of it. Yeah. And, and you know, and she got, she got away with it really. Right.

Olivia Fernandez: Yeah. She gets away with a lot of stuff. She's been getting away with stuff for years.

Javier: Yeah. I've, I, I've been in communication with the prosecutor, but it's usually a, a one-way communication.

Speaker: Like they want information from me, but I don't get a lot of information from them. I wonder why she was charged, because surely she had something to do with writing that book that exposed the doctor's real identity and their location and all that.

Olivia Fernandez: Oh, I know. I know I can see her orchestrating the whole thing.

Speaker: Um, that's my vision of it all. I'm just really surprised of Rick's involvement in it, and he took it to the post office himself, like he's smarter than all that. He is better than all that.

Javier: Yeah, I think people are still gonna be disappointed because despite him pleading guilty to this, which was really for the second wave of harassment, not for the first wave, which is the one that we talked about in the PO podcast, but people are gonna be disappointed because they don't know who the real stalker was.

Speaker: At the end of the day, like nobody knows who is pushing the numbers.

Olivia Fernandez: I know and I wanted to thank you Andina on, on your work on all of this and it, I just wanted to say it. It does. It's a bummer that. Uh, the real identity hasn't been confirmed, but we're not dead yet, so we could still find out. Yeah, that's how I feel.

Javier: And you mentioned Harena. For those of you who haven't listened to the series in a long time, detective Harena is the one who has been working this case since the very beginning. And I mean, I give him credit for. Really taking this case seriously, because a lot of stocking cases, they don't, they don't take 'em seriously.

Speaker: Police departments either don't have the resources or, you know, the Fernandez has swamped him with, with a bunch of information and he, he stuck to it, right? And he wrote to me the other day, he told me that he's retiring this. And he's glad that he's seeing this case through, you know, like that it's finally over. And to think that a detective, yeah, to think that a detective who has probably seen everything for this to be a standout case for him, that, that says a lot.

Olivia Fernandez: I know, right? That does say a lot.

Javier: Well, what, what are your, um, how do you feel about things with Madison now? With who? Oh, wait, not tell me your, your grandson's name.

Speaker: I've,

Olivia Fernandez: oh, Manix.

Javier: Manix. Okay. Sorry, sorry. Okay, so let me set it up a little bit because people might not remember, you know, for those of you who had listened to the series last time, you heard Olivia's voice, we were talking about. Her grandson Manix, who is basically has been adopted by Tanya and Rick Fernandez.

Speaker: Um, what, what are your thoughts now after everything that's gone through, do you think that, that you and your daughter will ever see Manix again?

Olivia Fernandez: Um, God, I hope and pray. Um, honestly, I don't know. Like I'm afraid to even try to reach out. I don't want any. Problems with them myself, but, um, I'm just hoping that once he is 18, that he doesn't end up like them.

Speaker: That's all I can hope for.

Javier: Yeah. How old is he now? Do, do you know?

Olivia Fernandez: He is, uh, born in 2013.

Javier: Oh, so

Olivia Fernandez: 13. Yeah. So right. 12 or 13.

Javier: Yeah. Sorry, I have a really bad cold. Now this cough comes outta nowhere. Hang on. Gosh. Okay. Sorry. I got these coughing fits. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's, it's, it's sad, right? Because these are real people and I'm sure that you and your daughter wanna see manic, you know?

Speaker: And, and yes. It's just, I

Olivia Fernandez: wish I, I wish I still had a relationship with all of my nieces and nephews. It, it is sad. I miss, like we used to be, me and Morgan used to be pretty close and it's just, um, I don't know. It's, I miss them too. It's sad because they've become,

Javier: I'm so sorry, the cough. Oh, man. You all right?

Speaker: Yeah. This is probably all we could do. 'cause I've been battling with this cough forever. Oh my gosh. Okay. It is terrible.

Olivia Fernandez: Oh, I know. I, I've had those myself recently and it's not fun. We've had a lot of smoke here, so Yeah, I've been coughing a lot and had Where are you living these days? I'm in Montana.

Javier: Oh, okay.

Speaker: Cool. It must be nice out there.

Olivia Fernandez: Yeah, it is. It's beautiful. Beats the hell out of Phoenix.

Javier: Yeah, I bet. Well, Olivia, I'm gonna let you go 'cause I'm gonna have a coughing fit right after this.

Olivia Fernandez: Okay. Thanks Javier.

Javier: All right. I appreciate it. You good work. Yeah,

Olivia Fernandez: I appreciate you.

Javier: All right.

Speaker: Have a great day. Bye. You too. Bye. All right. That's it for today's very, very short breaking news update on the stalker case. I'm sorry I don't have the new series ready for you. In fact, I'm actually still reporting on it, so it's probably a good thing that I didn't come out with a new series yet, but it's, it's a banger. I think you're gonna like it. All right. Um, I'm feeling better, by the way, but, you know, it's, it's, it's been. There's something going around, so take care of you yourselves. All right. That's it for me today. We'll be back soon, hopefully with the new series. Take care, with a new series that doesn't have a title yet, but for now, take care. Bye.