Something Was Wrong - S26 Ep4: So Help You God

Episode Date: July 2, 2026

*Content Warning:  stalking, breaking and entering, domestic violence, religious abuse,  sexual assault, sexual harassment, religious abuse, and friendship betrayal. Free + Confidential Resources + Safety Tips: somethingwaswrong.com/resources   SWW Sticker Shop!: https://brokencyclemedia.com/sticker-shop SWW S26 Theme Song & Artwork: The S26 cover art is by the Amazing Sara Stewart instagram.com/okaynotgreat/  Follow Something Was Wrong: Website: somethingwaswrong.com  IG: instagram.com/somethingwaswrongpodcast TikTok: tiktok.com/@somethingwaswrongpodcast  Follow Tiffany Reese: Website: tiffanyreese.me  IG: instagram.com/lookieboo *Sources:  Body-worn camera recording. Received via Virginia Freedom of Information Act request. Commonwealth of Virginia v. Sergio Guardia. Trial Transcript. Circuit Court of the City of Lynchburg, March 2025. Received via Virginia Freedom of Information Act request. Commonwealth of Virginia v. Sergio Guardia. Sentencing Hearing. Circuit Court of the City of Lynchburg, 17 Oct. 2025. Liberty University: Institutional history and university background information. https://www.liberty.edu/  Thomas Road Baptist Church: Church history and organizational background. Founded in 1956 by Jerry Falwell Sr. https://trbc.org/ 

If you love Something Was Wrong and want to help support the show, become a community contributor on Apple Podcasts, or purchase a sticker from our sticker shop at brokencyclemedia.com. Thank you so much. Something Was Wrong is intended for mature audiences and includes topics that may be upsetting. This season will be discussing friendship betrayal, religious abuse, stalking, sexual assault,

and other serious topics. So please listen with kids. Some names have been changed for safety or anonymity purposes. The podcast and any linked materials should not be misconstrued as a substitution for legal or medical advice. Sources and resources can be found in the episode notes. Thank you so much for listening. Last time on something was wrong. Oh, what's going to happen?

So he's likely going to be placed under arrest for breaking and entering. intent to commit a misdemeanor and stalking, because this is the second night that it's happened. Because that happened yesterday and tonight. So this is two nights in a row that he's done this. This victim's advocate told me that the pastor would have a bond hearing. It was going to be, I think, on Wednesday. So he was arrested on Saturday. Those days he was in jail, I was able to sleep. I was notified the day after the bond hearing that he was.

released when I met with the prosecutor, he explained that Sergio might not be convicted or probably wouldn't. Whatever he said, I was so shocked. The trial was initially scheduled for August. And this would have been August of 2024? Yes. We had waited all these months and finally two weeks before the trial. I contacted the victim's advocate and I'm like, can we schedule to meet with the prosecutor so that I can be prepared. I had asked the prosecutor a couple of times if Sergio had any witnesses, had any evidence. I really believe that he would use someone as a witness, probably to lie. The victim's advocate had called me the week prior about a plea deal and having it reduced again, and I said no. How many proposed pleas do you think there were before you reached court?

I would say, maybe six? Eventually, the last call I got about a plea deal was the afternoon before the initial date. The victim's advocate had called me again about a plea deal. And I was like, is this for real? This time, the plea deal was asking that it be reduced to trespassing and no felonies. And they would compensate me for changing the lock on my door. And that was so insulting as if that was the only financial loss. That's another thing that surprised me through the legal process and through this situation,

was how this impacted me financially. My income was significantly impacted. And it wasn't just because I did take off for court dates. It's the cost of getting more security cameras. Purchasing a gun. Purchasing a camera for my car. purchasing books that I could read about safety. I spent a lot of money on like DoorDash and stuff because I couldn't even think straight.

The question never left my head. Why was he in my house? What was he doing? How many times has he been here? It impacted me. My focus, my energy, my emotions. But what made it so much worse was how I was treated and the lack of support I got because this was a pastor. I want it heard by the court, by the judge or by the jury, and let them decide.

I really truly believed he would be found guilty. After the preliminary hearing, Sergio was able to choose whether he wanted a jury trial or bench trial, so either a jury or judge. And so he chose a judge. I had a feeling that it was going to change. Sure enough, the day of the trial that morning, the victim's advocate told me that it was continued to March 2025 because he changed his mind and decided to have a jury. That day, I actually went out, talked to my neighbor across the street because she was finally summons as a witness. She told me that

she was notified the night before that the trial had been continued. And I was confused and just wondered why I wasn't notified. I was so angry because I hadn't even slept. I had stayed up all night because my daughter was on a flight to Spain and I could not sleep without knowing that she landed safely. It really made me feel like I was just worthless. Like they notified me because they legally had to maybe. It didn't feel good, but nothing about this process felt good. January 2025, two months before the trial, I was at my house. My daughter had taken the car to work. All the lights in my house were off. It looked like I wasn't home because the lights were off and because my car was gone. All of a sudden the dogs started barking. It was really dark outside.

I see as they're barking at the living room window, they're moving their heads. So they're definitely watching something or someone and they're barking at them. I had a ring camera that was on my yard. So I pull it up and I see a man coming up the walkway to my front door. And I'm like, what is he doing? He has his phone. He's holding it up to his mouth, not his ear, his mouth. It looks like he's on speakerphone. And he goes up the front steps, but that's where my camera doesn't capture anything on the stairs. I am inside right in front of my door waiting to see if he will not. It doesn't get super cold in Virginia, but this was one of the coldest years. So I remember thinking, like, who's taking a stroll in the neighborhood?

There were no cars parked nearby. It just seemed suspicious to me. And I couldn't identify him. It was really dark. But it didn't look like Sergio. I waited there, and for two minutes, there was nothing. No knock. I didn't see the handle trying to be turned or anything.

My doors were locked. Then he starts walking away. By the way, when he was approaching my house, He was looking at the yard. He was looking at the house. He was looking around. It was weird to me. And as he's walking away from my house, he's doing the same thing.

So then I look out my window when he leaves. And he walks down the sidewalk. I call my neighbor a couple houses down. This neighbor had come to me after he saw the news, like a month after the break-ins. And he was like, we're not going to have this in our neighborhood. Here's my number. you call me. So I called him and he was outside real fast. He didn't see where he went. But I know that he crossed over to the other street. I call police. An officer patrols the neighborhood. He

uses his light on the top of the cruiser to see if he can see anyone. He stops by my house and he lets me know that he didn't see anyone walking around or anything and wanted to see the video. So I show it to him and he confirmed, it definitely looks like he's looking around for something. His phone kept flashing a light, which made it even harder to even try to identify who he was. The police officer also finds this suspicious, and I told him there was a man that had been stalking me, but it didn't look like him. He explained, just like other officers have explained to me, that it's just challenging to get a stalking charge because of how the law is written. It's like you have to be in fear for your life.

Unfortunately, a lot of women don't have that fear until it's too late. I didn't realize the danger my life was in until I saw the video. But I would have never said to police, I'm afraid this man is going to kill me. I didn't know very much about stalking. The trial was continued to March 2025. This is now my daughter's senior year. The break-ins were November 23. So almost two years.

Yeah, March. That's when we're preparing for prom and graduation is approaching and everything. I wish I didn't have something so heavy on top of all the drama. I called the victim advocate and asked to meet with the prosecutor again to prepare for the trial. two weeks before the actual trial that took place. I didn't get confirmation or any answer that Sergio had evidence. I think the prosecutor might have told me that his wife is going to testify. And I remember thinking, of course she is.

And what is she going to testify of? Whatever he tells her to. One conversation before the trial, the victim's advocate gave me a paper, sent it by email, I think. And it was just like kind of a rundown of questions that the prosecutor would ask. It wasn't detailed at all. It was basic. So I did a lot of the preparation on my own. Looking at what types of questions would be asked toward a victim from both the prosecutor and the defense attorney.

I knew that the defense would try to maybe attack my credibility. That's common in trials and cases. they did, I believe, asked for another plea deal. There were no other conversations, just meeting with the prosecutor just a couple weeks before the trial. I'd like to thank Shopify for sponsoring today's episode. I think a lot of people have an idea for something they'd love to build someday. They just aren't sure where to start.

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An advocate got a group of supporters together to support me. The group of supporters that I had with me are not women that I knew very well. My closest friends are out of state. The two friends that I had in town didn't come to the trial. They were supportive in other ways, but I think a lot of people even if they want to support me, people don't feel comfortable being present in a trial of a pastor of Thomas Road. When I first walked in to the building, Sergio's defense lawyer came out of a room that was right by the doors of the court. So clearly they had a room.

The court's victim advocate, she said there were no rooms available. I'm the one with a protective order and there's no privacy. or safety, we all stood in the lobby, but very close to the room that Sergio walked into. Sergio's wife glared at me, and I kept eye contact, even though she looked really, really angry. For some reason, I just felt sadness for her. She's so deceived is what I was thinking. I'm very close to this room, and Sergio has the ability to walk past me, and no one's doing anything about it. So finally, I asked one of the police officers, Can you please get a room? I have a protective order. And he sounded surprised. He said, I didn't know you had a protective order. You should have told me. And I was like, the victim's advocate should have told you. What do you remember about the moment that you walked into the courtroom? I remember being surprised at how little people there were. I was expecting him to have a lot of supporters. There was his dad and his stepmom and then his friend. I think that was it. And then,

a few people that were there to support me. And then walking all the way across the room was awkward, having to walk right in front of Sergio and his lawyer to a witness stand. I wasn't super anxious, but I was nervous. I had to identify him when I was on the stand. That was just one second. I pointed, and that was it. Other than that, I didn't look at him, but it's still a very weird feeling. And it just makes me angry because I've tried so hard to, get away from this guy. Even with the court system of legal process, he was still able to have physical proximity to me. I couldn't be in the trial. I couldn't hear the other witnesses' testimonies. So I was in a room for hours and would just have to come in the courtroom to testify.

What had you hoped the jury would understand from hearing from you on the stand? That they would understand the truth. I was hoping that they would. would understand that added danger, really, to what he did and the additional danger because of his position as a pastor. I also was hoping that they would understand the psychological harm and coercive control. And I was also hoping that they would understand the impact of him being in my daughter's bedroom. Whenever I talked about the break-in, I made sure I included he was in my daughter's bedroom. It felt like I was on that stand for hours. If I was to guess, I would say maybe 45 minutes. The defense lawyer was so fast. I would barely get an answer out and he'd challenge my answer.

I think the biggest tactic was to show that I was not credible if my answers were different. but I'm telling the truth, so I would just keep telling the truth. At the preliminary hearing, one thing the defense lawyer had asked me is, was he threatening? Did he threaten you when he ran into you out in public? Or was he friendly? And I said, yeah, he was friendly. At the trial, he said, well, you said that he was friendly. And I'm like, that's how he presents to people.

And so I looked at the jury and I said, nice is not a character. trait. Just because someone's nice doesn't mean they're not a danger. And also the act of all the things that he did in combination, this didn't happen in a vacuum. The slow and subtle way he was chipping away at your boundaries to the point where you had to threaten to call the police to get him to leave your house. There's so many things that add to the whole picture. Right. They're trying to portray him. He's not a threat, but he has to be friendly because if he wasn't, I would have seen the danger more clearly. During the trial, Sergio's presence there from the time I arrived to the time I left was very Sergio centered. Whenever we had breaks and the court wasn't in session, he would be

right near the metal detectors joking and laughing with the officers. I couldn't go to the bathroom without passing by him because of where he positioned himself. He dominated that court building. How many days was the trial? It ended up being two days only because it was maybe six o'clock that the jury went back in the room. But before they went back, the judge noted that one of the jurors had to leave by like 7 or 730, something like that because she had to be somewhere. He told the jurors not to rush. But if they didn't come to a verdict in that hour or hour and a half, that they would come back tomorrow. And that's what happened. The judge decided that we would be at

court the next morning and then the jury would deliberate. By the time I got to the court building, the victim's advocate with the court had already texted me and said they reached a verdict. It was fast. They were deliberating for maybe 30 minutes. We went into the courtroom and just a A couple minutes later, the judge came in and then had the jury come out. I think we were in that courtroom for like 20 minutes. They read the verdict. These 12 jurors decide that he was guilty. I had this huge relief rush over me because I'm like, they get it. I always believed he'd be found guilty. Ultimately, that day, he was found guilty of two felony counts of breaking and entering and one misdemeanor count of stalking. What did it feel?

like walking away from court after the guilty verdict. I was so tired. It felt confirming. It felt liberating. I felt so validated by the court and by these 12 jurors. He was guilty on all counts. After the court that second day, I went out to lunch with some of the people that were there to support me. And then after that, I went home and I I slept. I literally just fell in my bed and I slept for a few hours. When I woke up, I checked my phone and the group of supporters, they have their Facebook Messenger group chat. And there were like a million messages that I had to catch up to. They had been messaging all this time while I was asleep, and not one of them ever asked how I was doing. That's really when it was confirmed to me that this wasn't the support that was helpful for me, because all of the messages were about what news

to bring it to. They were sharing what news sources they have as if I should depend on them. It was just really exhausting. After the trial, the women that were there to support me gave me a notebook, they all wrote down the testimonies, you know, just took notes for me. I asked these girls that took notes, what did they say as to why he was in my house? And that's when I learned, like, they never, ever gave a reason as to why he was in my house. It was purely an attack on my character. What the defense said about me and their arguments about me didn't really surprise me, but their actual defense surprised me because there literally wasn't a defense. Their only witness was Sergio's wife who claimed that she found a message on their family Instagram account years ago from me

that I'd sent him, which never happened. The one thing that really did surprise me with her testimony, she is describing incidents that never had never happened. The one thing that really did surprise me with her testimony, She is describing incidents that never happened that she's saying she's a part of. So one is she confronted me in the church, in the children's play area. And then she told me that it's best not to come back. That never happened. The verdict was March 2025. The sentencing was October seven months.

But it had been scheduled and then continued the month before the first. sentencing hearing. I had texted the victim's advocate and I'd sent letters of support and then I said, I'm going to be reading my victim impact statement at court and I'll provide my victim impact statement at that time. I didn't send her mind because I didn't want the defense to have my victim impact statement before the sentencing hearing. When it came time for the sentencing, who was with you that day? So the court victim advocate was there. Her supervisor, the private advocate, and her husband and a couple other women, they met me outside the court. And we walked in together.

The court was four, nine. We were there at 8.45. Not a single person was standing outside. No one was going to the bathrooms. No one was waiting in the lobby. As soon as I came into that room, the prosecutor said, So you're going to testify today? And I said, testify to what? I got the summons in the mail, but I was never informed about it. I don't know why I got a summons to testify in court. I said, do you mean read my victim impact statement? And he said, yes. The courtroom was packed. Sergio was sitting at a table in front of the judge's bench with his attorney. Everyone was standing with their backs against the wall, basically shoulder to shoulder.

60, 70 people, and they all looked similar in the way they dressed, and no one was interacting with each other. It was quiet. It was so bizarre. I'm like, what did I just walk into? I think maybe one of the reasons there were so many people is for intimidation. The judge, I'm sitting right next to him, and he looks at me, and he's looking at me intently. He looks very kind, and he wants to hear, for me. All right. We're here for the sentencing of Mr. Gordia on two convictions of breakling and entering, one of stalking. Ms. Blumna? You spotted the evidence he shall give him in this case. The truth, go, truth, nothing but the truth's talking about you. Good morning, ma'am. Can I get you the stage your full name for me?

Marie Columna. Ms. Clunna, obviously, we're here today for the sentencing the final pardon case from the jury trial that we had a few months. Today, the court's going to make a determination and what consequences of your conviction. This has come down the opportunity for me to ask you about how what happened to you with these charges has affected you and your family. So if you could just let Judge Watson know sort of what has been kind of the outcome and the collateral advantage for you and your family.

I've suffered financially. because of lost work, lost wages for court preparations, for appearances, and symptoms just mentally, I never feel safe.

I can't even explain after he broke into my house. I was so paranoid that there were cameras in my house. I was looking all time for cameras, especially my daughter's bedroom. It wasn't just just him breaking into my house that made me suffer so many consequences.

It was knowing that he had been stalking me for so many years. It was knowing that I made drastic decisions like moving, which is so much work and so much money just to get away so he wouldn't know where I was. For him to be able to continue to stop me and to know where I am, to know where I live, the manipulation using other people to psychologically harm me to manipulate. Him bringing into my home, people have said, I'm glad you're okay and I'm glad it's over. And I'm like, it's none of her. And sure enough, for the past two years, I've had to continue to suffer continuously.

even though I didn't see him, he was using how to people. And then the church's response was also a huge impact for them to be so dismissive and to turn the narrative and support him. I wasn't just up against one person. I was up against an institution, a powerful and influential, which is incredibly hard. Has this experience of those things. you spirituality at all because the fact you was to pastor of church at Pia of everyone? It has. I would say my faith has been strengthened. I cannot enter a church. I would love to

raise my kids, you know, in church as what I was doing when they were grown up and they were young. And I can't even enter a church anymore because of Sergio's actions. He is a very nice guy and he presents as so godly. And so now I have a very, very difficult time trusting any pastor, trusting in the church that has impacted me and my

kids. Your daughter was living with who was having at him number of 23. How old was she? She was 16 years old. Did this event and then going through the trial had an impact of her? Absolutely.

She had sleepovers. all the time, all the time. We had kids at our house, I mean like many kids at her house sleeping over. And we were the house that kids always came to. And she never had a sleep over again. We were just wondering if other kids were ever safe in her house. It's devastating to think because if he entered my daughter's bedroom at 11thburg on Friday night,

I'm thinking, has he entered her bedroom before with other kids'air referrals? It was also for senior year, which is supposed to be a special year. And this just overshadowed it. All the court cases and continuances and just might stress over what was going on. She has friends that go to the Hispanic church that Sergio was a pastor at. and she would tell me, I think she heard from those friends, they would tell her that they were concerned for Sergio because he was going to be deported,

because that was the narrative that the church gave. And of course, she didn't want to tell her friends. They didn't know it was her bedroom. But she had to be in these conversations and hear these things where they are symptomizing for Sergio. It just impacted her overall safety. I've never seen her scared, and I saw moments of fear in the past two years.

And I've always been concerned about her leaving the house or being at work and now even being at college. I'm still extremely concerned about her safety. Have you made any changes to poor life? I saw because of the assembly. Oh, yeah. I barely leave the house. I don't leave the house as much as I used to.

I used to go out of the lot. One reason is because I don't really trust people anymore because of the people they've been able to use. To gather information and to monitor and surveil, I put more cameras at my house, the security, more locks, changed where my daughter's bedroom is. And I'm a lot more cautious.

about where my kids go, who they're with, and we didn't put to church anymore, stuff like that. Thank you very much. Thank you, ma'am, and they sit there. Ms. Javis, do you wish to present the evidence? I do have evidence in the form of some letters

and show support that you have for people. We only have testimony of the word, Lord. Lord. Please raise your right hand. He's where the evidence to shove him in this station. The truth, no truth, nothing about the truth talking about. Right, come on up, please.

Yeah, my name is Laura, Elizabeth Wardian. Okay, you testified at trial, too, right? Yes. All right, this is your husband, sir, you have warring? Yes. Is he still your husband? Yes, he is. Still living on?

Yes. He lives with me and our three children. The last couple of years, probably bad to you, I would imagine. Horrible. Right. He's been open with you. Yes, all the time. It's all Jared, him.

Yes. Told you by his relationship, told me about what he did it. Yes. And at the time, he was arrested. He was obviously a pastor, right? Yes. He was working for this organization with churches. Okay.

So when he was arrested, he was fired, right? Yes, he was fired from, yeah, both places. Can he find another job? Yes. After that, he had been doing job that he never lived before in his life. What's he doing that? Yeah. all type of contraction work.

He had a lot of education, but when you are a felon, we cannot find jobs. So he had to work on anything. He had been working for a company in the past year. Consistently, he was hired by this company and had been providing. He works 80 hours a week. He's the main provider of our house. I work full time too, but he's the main provider. So if Sergio is around, it's going to be hard to make it into it.

Of course. Has your guys went on counseling? He had been in counseling individually. We have been counseling together all this time since all this happened. Is any any improvement? This has been a nightmare. I'm not going to minimize what happened at all. We are people of faith.

And breaking the law is a big deal. and from another country. Laws over there function very differently, but I have learned through all these, how important is the laws here, but also how big it is to bring them all. So I understand, but I can say that my husband is not the same person.

I had never, never saw, see him so break like he's now. I'm not a stupid, I'm not an idiot. I will find another option. I have things that I can end this marriage, but I will not ever, because I know who he is. And he's a great father, and he's a good man. He made a big mistake, but he's a good man on his core. And I see his repentance, not through his words, but through the things that he did for our family, providing, just talking openly to our children to what happened.

And I really value that. All right. So the protective ward has been in place since this all happened, right? Any instances of him raining? No, nothing. He doesn't have any records before. He didn't get closer, nothing. Okay.

There's no weapons in the house. Guns, not... No, there's no guns in my house. Okay. And then the people, there's a lot of family here, right? My parents are here, my mother-in-law, father-in-law, friends So those people

and come around and support him? Yes, love him support him, understand what happened, understand the big mistake but know who he is. Thank you, then you missed that day. Mr. Child, does you wish to be heard?

There are two aspects in this case that are a crime conserved for sentencing in this matter. One is what exactly the motive, what exactly the reason for the stalking, breaking an area that November. And the second is, this is kind of a culmination of a pattern of conduct that it predated

in November breaking and narrowing that wouldn't stop. The victim in this case isn't an ex-like, isn't somebody who had some sort of romantic containment for years, which is not so famous. that person I'm obsessed with. I don't know why he zeroed in on her, but he did. But not knowing the why is a cause of what concern considering future conduct, future behavior. And the second issue was, as this conduct was escalated,

she comes home to town, though, he's in her home on her computer, she tells him to leave. if that's not a moment to stop and think I'm very lucky I'm not talking to a police officer like yet that didn't make it stop I don't know what it's not the one-time decision despite that can count he was insulated and protected because of his reputation and employment when someone is insulated because of their position of trust when someone is given that kind of responsibility and then uses it as a shield and sore

the need for a significant sentence in the case becomes great because his conduct reaches just beyond this communal in our family it undermines really trusting the institutions that as a community we rely on for comfort for safety. We rely on people in his position

for the guidance and help. Your Honor, today, this court is going to be the ultimate voice, and the sentence that this court hands down today, the Commonwealth believes, means to speak formal, not only

for justice, for the victim, but for protection, for healing. All right. Thank you, Mr. Childress. Mr. Davies. My client would probably largely agree with most of that as far as protected order and no problem. He wants a protective order. He's abided by a protective order without any issue whatsoever the last two or so many years. Probation. He fully expects to get it. He will get it and he wants it. He wants that accountability. That's not really an issue. The issue is, of course, what the court does as far as sense.

His wife testified to He is the brand of him. He's got three kids for life for. They live in the same home, but his wife is struggling. He did serve four days. The charges were awake and caught. He stopped since that dead.

He accepts the punishment. He accepts eviction. But there was a relationship. Marie denied it, but Laura, his wife, testified, they were caught. In the phrase, proofs in flooding. if we're worried about the dangers of this part, his willingness to abide by the detective work speaks volumes. His support from his family speaks volumes.

His love of his wife and his kids speak volumes. And then his willingness to take responsibility to speak volumes. He's fully committed to not making any excuses. He's just looking for suspended settings, a long-time open. Right. Thank you. Mr. Chil, same thing else. Yes, sir. Mr. Wardia, please stand, sir.

Mr. Wardia, do you know of any reason that I shouldn't sentence you today, or is there anything you would like to say before I do sentence you? All right, go ahead. I want to say sorry for his actions, and thank you, sorry for everything. The past few years, I've been going to counseling personally and live by wife. I've confessed that in my wife. I'm sorry to identical to her family. You know, I know this costs the stress over a lot.

I'm sorry for that, but I'm sorry to my church, my community, and most of all I'm very sorry to my life. I have tried to move forward there. I'm honored to support that family and to do any amends I have to do. I'm grateful for the opportunity to address you at Sam, I'm sorry, but also to work a probation officer to move forward and whatever. forward and whatever I got to do that. Yeah, I'm sorry. I don't want to me in this 40-game or any reason or

any other part. All right, well, thank you for that. Let me see a couple things. One thing that jumped out at me, and I do remember the jury trial, this was not a one-time exercise of bad judgment. This was conduct

that was repeated. And it wasn't random. It's clear that Ms. Columbine and our family were the targets of this activity. And why they were the target, you know, I've heard various reasons, but they were targeted in any of it. And I've listened to Ms. Columna and I've read the letters about the impact that this

has had on her. I've read the letters or reviewed the letters that people have written praising your character and a told past judgment as to whether you're a good or bad man, that's not my job. But having considered all that, including the precincts report and the guidelines, and as Mr. Childress noted, the guidelines in this case, only recommend probation. They do not recommend any incarceration. I do not think the guidelines reflect the seriousness of this offense or the impact that it has had on this colon and her family. So I do think a departure from the guidelines is appropriate. Having said all that, Mr. Gwardi, it's a judgment of the court that you be sentenced as follows.

On the first breaking and entering, I sent you to a term incarceration for five years. I'm going to suspend four years and nine months. On the second charge of breaking and entering, I sent you to five years incarceration. I'm going to suspend five years. And on the charge of stalking, I send you to determine incarceration of 12 months. I'm going to suspend 11 months. That's a total sentence of 10 years and 12 months with four months to serve. the remainder being suspended.

I will give you a delayed report date. You're to report to jail at 8 o'clock a.m. next Friday, October 24th. If you fail to report or you report late, that could result in additional charges and further consequences. I will also order if you are eligible that you can participate in work release. The suspended sentence has some conditions. I'm going to go with those with you now. first you to be of good behavior in all respects for a period of 10 years starting today. I'm placing you on two years of supervised probation that will start immediately upon your release from the jail.

You're to report to your probation officer within three business days of your release. You're to comply with the conditions of probation and the directions of your probation officer. I'm ordering you to have absolutely no contact with Ms. Columna or any members of her family or household. and I'm also going to enter a two-year protective order that will go into effect today. You will be served with it before you leave the courthouse, and that protective order will be in effect. It will be a no-contact protective order for two years. Violations of a protective order will result in additional criminal charges. As required by law, I'm ordering you to submit to a DNA test and provide legible fingerprints to the sheriff or jail if you've not done so,

and to pay the court costs of this case on the schedule set by the truck. Mr. Wardy, do you understand those conditions? Do you have any questions about any of those conditions? So don't leave the courthouse until your servant that protected order. At the sentencing hearing, I watched Lauda, Sergio's wife, be called to the witness stand. And she starts testifying. She's obviously very prepared.

At that point, I really felt defeat. and also scared. This man has already been validated and encouraged and supported. That's when I got really actually fearful for my life. She was explaining how terrible this situation has been for them, and it's been a living nightmare for them. Then she actually did admit that what he did wasn't right, which that's the first time I've ever heard that. But basically, her whole testimony was about the impact on them and their kids and their life. I absolutely agree that her children are victims in this too, because it's going to impact them. I just was so angry when they talked about how it's impacted them financially. Me as the single mother with everything that these people have

done to me financially, I was livid to hear that. When she was finished with her testimony, then Sergio was given time to talk to the judge. It was basically like he was apologizing to the judge. That's what it sounded like. He didn't say what he was sorry for. There was nothing specific. I didn't think it was genuine. When he was done, then the judge said, the guidelines recommend probation, which that's shocking with multiple breaking and entering. But the judge said because of the details that he felt like it was appropriate to go above the guidelines. So I all of a sudden felt like he's heard me, he understands the severity of this. He then explains because it wasn't just a one-time thing and the duration that he's decided to sentence surgery.

to 11 years, five years for the one felony of breaking and entering, five years for the other felony of breaking and entering, and then one year for the stalking. With only four months to serve. It was explained, 10 years, nine months, suspended, meaning if he's charged again, that would be hanging over his head and he could serve the remainder of that time if he gets. in trouble again with criminal charges. But it shocked me because I'm like eight years of prison for me that he put me through and he only gets four months in jail. Another thing that really surprised me was that the judge only reflected on these crimes for like a good 30 seconds maybe.

It made me feel heard and yet not really hurt at all. As soon as the judge shared the sentencing, I felt a tapping on my back. The court victim advocate was like, we've got to go. And we were rushing out of the courtroom, even though everybody was still there and the judge was still talking. And I'm like, why are you rushing? We go all the way back to that room

that we were in that morning. None of my supporters are in that room with me. And the prosecutor's just smiling. He's so happy. And he's like, this was great. this is a win, telling me how to feel and telling me what my opinion should be. That's what it felt like. And then finally, he's like, what's wrong? And I said, why didn't I read my victim impact statement? He said, you did? And I said, no, I didn't. And he said, you answered the questions. I said,

that is not reading my victim impact statement. And he said, well, you were looking down at your paper when you were answering the questions. That's not true. I never once looked down when I was answering those questions. Then the other women that had come there for me came into the room. They were asking him questions. It just felt so weird that they were so involved. I can't even describe it, but it's almost like other people took ownership of the experience. And I'm just sitting here like I'm not a part of.

this. We were there for maybe more than 30 minutes. We were waiting for the protective order, the bailiff comes back with the protective order, and we're still sitting there as the prosecutor is just talking and talking and talking. I just want to get the hell out of this wretched building. Finally, I'm like, why are we here? I just want to leave. So we leave. Then WSET, a reporter wanted to talk to me after. I'm just in a daze. I'm dissociated. I shouldn't have done this interview, but I did. She just asked me how I feel, and I'm just like, yeah, justice was served, because I was told many times that he most likely won't go to jail. So when I'm expecting nothing, and then he gets four months, of course I'm going to consider that a win. Coming up on something was wrong. I was

scrolling on TikTok and I saw a report from Daily Mail. I went to their site and I put in a brief summary of what happened and the next morning a reporter with Southwest News Service contacted me and was interested in doing an interview. That is what changed a lot of things. And I'm so thankful that I did that. I believe it's only made me safer. The fact that it made me more. The fact that it made national news because now more eyes are on this. Thank you endlessly to every survivor, guest, and expert who has contributed to our community. We are eternally grateful for your bravery, energy, and time. Something Was Wrong is a Broken Cycle Media production created and produced by Tiffany Reese.

Thank you to our incredible team. Associate producer Amy B. Chessler, audio engineer Becca High, and social media marketing manager, Lauren Barkman. Special thanks to Sarah Stewart for our amazing Season 26 artwork, Stephen Wack for ad audio editing, and our partners at Audio Boom. If you love something was wrong and you want to help support the show and listen ad-free, become a community contributor on Apple Podcasts. Or purchase a sticker from our sticker shop at brokencyclemedia.com.

Or tell everyone you know, like your neighbor, sister, brother, yoga instructor, florist, telemarketer, Reiki-healer, stylist, trainer, mentor, parents, cousins, aunties, unks, coaches, librarians, macha artist, balloon artist, wedding planner, bridesmaids, bank teller, driver, dog groomer, dentist, orthodontist, esthetic, tattoo artist, house cleaner, accountant, tax preparer, insurance agent, mail carrier, crossing guard, bekeeper, notary public, lifeguard, camp counselor, flight attendant, dog walker pet sitter Pilates instructor spin instructor tarot reader acupuncturist landscaper electrician, plumber contractor real estate agent mortgage broker optometrist veterinarian park ranger farmer's market vendor little league coach PTA president school librarian substitute teacher

driving instructor wedding efficient travel agent locksmith ferris wheel operator hot air balloon pilot llama farmer falconer puppeteer professional mermaid, or that one friend who's somehow just in everyone's business. If you know, you know, thank you so much for listening. Until next time, stay safe friends. This is Amy B. Chesler. And if you've been loving listening to Something Was Wrong, you'll definitely want to check out Broken Cycle Media's sister podcast, What Came Next. With more than 170 episodes available, the series explores what happens after survivors share their stories publicly. Diving into healing, justice, advocacy, and the lasting impact of trauma and media exposure. Co-created and co-produced by Tiffany

Reese, the show gives survivors a platform to discuss not just what happened, but where life led them next. Follow and listen to what came next wherever you get your podcasts.