A stolen Olympic gold medal owned by Jordyn Poulter, a member of the 2020 US Women's Volleyball Team, was found behind a barber shop in Southern California. Officials said.
Police reported on Wednesday that the medal was stolen on May 25, after Olympiandiscovered that a car had invaded a parking lot in Anaheim. She offered a $ 1,000 reward for returning the medal.
The detective later arrested 31-year-old Jordan Fernandez in connection with the intrusion and theft of a car, but could not immediately find the missing medal.
On Monday, the owner of the Noel Barber shop in Anaheim called 911 and reported that a gold medal was found in a plastic bag abandoned outside the business at North State College Boulevard.Police said in a statement.
Maria Carillo and Noe Hernandez noticed the weight and were trying to throw the bag into the trash when they opened the bag to find the gold medal insideNBC Los Angeles reported.
Barber shop owners make plans I handed the discovery to the police station. Return it to Poulter.
Fernandez has been charged with burglary, vehicle theft, personal information theft, and drug possession, officials said earlier this month.
Police said the suspect had a "long criminal record", including a conviction of a felony robbery in 2020. After serving 120 days in prison, he was arrested by police in late January 2022 for violating probation.
After the game was delayed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Poulter was part of the team that won the gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
After the theft, Paulter toldABC Eyewitness Newshow angry he was at having his medal stolen. She said she would get a medal wherever she went.
"We live this crazy life of living in so many different places," the athlete explained. "Many of us play abroad and then go home and go out for training, so I want to see friends, family, or medals I haven't seen in a while (to show). We only deposit medals to people in our community. "
