Oceanside treasurer arrested candidate, subject of emergency gun order

A candidate for the Oceanside City Treasurer’s Office was arrested by the California Highway Patrol on suspicion of driving under the influence two months ago, although prosecutors have yet to file criminal charges.

The case against Jack Fernandes, one of two people challenging incumbent Treasurer Victor Roy, remains under review, the District Attorney’s Office said Friday.

Fernandes acknowledged the Aug. 6 arrest but said he had done nothing wrong.

“I am aware there was an arrest,” he said in a telephone interview. “I am aware there has been a suspicion of DUI, but I blew a zero point zero (into a breathalyzer) and no charges have been filed. I have not been accused of any crime, and I have not committed any crime.”

Three weeks after his arrest, a San Diego Superior Court judge granted a gun violence emergency protective order against Fernandes. This case was opened after Fernandes was involved in an apparently unrelated “road rage” incident in La Jolla.

San Diego police responding to the incident seized guns and ammunition, records show.

“Suspect pointed firearm at an individual during a road rage incident at 1100 Prospect Street,” the report states. “Fernandes was stopped inside (his) vehicle and an unloaded firearm was located in a black bag belonging to Fernandes.

“Fernandes had a loaded magazine in the front passenger’s seat,” the San Diego police report adds. He also had a loaded firearm in a nearby gym bag, police said.

The candidate, who graduated from the UCLA School of Law and has been a member of the California State Bar since 2020, said: “I have not been involved in any road rage incident.”

Regarding the request for the judicial order, Fernandes said a copy of the document obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune and sent to the candidate was never filed in court. The one-page record is stamped received by the Superior Court on Sept. 6, 2024.

“The order you sent wasn’t filed,” Fernandes said by email. “There is no record of it anywhere as I showed you.”

The San Diego City Attorney’s Office said Friday that an investigation into the road rage incident is ongoing.

Fernandes, a 30-year-old biotech entrepreneur, ran for the 75th District seat in the state Assembly in the March primary election earlier this year. He finished sixth out of six candidates, with just under 3 percent of the vote, in that race in East County.

Fernandes, who was elected to a seat on the Republican Party Central Committee last spring, said he would keep pushing to benefit Oceanside constituents.

“I will continue to put our city first, even if it means my personal and professional life will be pollized and attacked with rumors and lies,” he said in a follow-up email. “I offer myself as the target of all attacks if it means I can protect O-siders.”

Even before the arrest and gun-violence order, the Oceanside treasurer’s office race had attracted attention.

An independent investigation concluded in 2022 that incumbent Victor Roy violated multiple city rules and related to his use of city library resources. The same probe found that Roy viewed inappropriate material at the library.

The third candidate in the Oceanside treasurer’s race is Phyllis Dominguez, who is a retired financial manager for an energy company.

Originally Published: October 5, 2024 at 5:00 am