Northern New Mexico College Vice President of Institutional Advancement Ricky Serna, and former Northern employee Angelo Jacques, have less chance of getting into another verbal altercation anytime soon following a decision by First Judicial District Court Judge Jennifer Attrep.
Attrep issued a mutual non-contact agreement between the two men, at a May 13 hearing in Santa Fe, after an incident in which Jacques allegedly verbally threatened Serna.
Attrep also granted a motion for continuance in the case, which means she will schedule further hearings.
“We are content with that decision,” Serna’s lawyer Mark Basham said.
Serna filed an applicaton for the order after an April 16 simple assault incident involving Jacques, at El Paragua, online court records state.
According to the police report, Jacques allegedly tried to verbally pick a fight with Serna as the Northern official’s family was exiting the restaurant after dinner.
Serna alleged Jacques, who was allegedly intoxicated, followed Serna, who carried his 10-month-old son in his arms throughout the duration of the altercation, to the family’s car while allegedly, incessantly yelling expletive comments, the report states.
Jacques denied these allegations in a prior interview.
In August 2014, Jacques filed a civil complaint for damages under the Whistleblower Act, after he was allegedly terminated by Northern administrators for exposing what he wrote were controversial practices, including grant mismanagement and preferential hiring practices, while employed at the college. Serna was one of the administrators Jacques named in his suit.
Attrep granted a temporary restraining order against Jacques, April 30, online court records state. The temporary restraining order expired May 10.
As part of the non-contact agreement, Attrep told Serna and Jacques not to threaten, harm or annoy each other. They are banned from contacting each other via telephone, text message or email.
Attrep, however, did not ban them from posting about each other on social media sites.
Basham wrote in the complaint that Serna requested that Jacques not post about him on Facebook.
But Basham said in a May 18 interview, Jacques has a First Amendment right to express his grievances against Serna in any way.
“It’s in the agreement that Mr. Serna is a high ranking official,” Basham said. “Mr. Jacques can criticize him any way he wants.”
Jacques’s attorney, Richard Rosenstock, said Attrep’s decision was a careful one.
“She seemed to think that’s the solution in the meantime,” Rosenstock said. “This is a chance encounter with Ricky and nothing happened, but you know. I think she did what she felt needed to be done. It was OK. She doesn’t know for a fact what’s going on, but she had to be careful.”
Rosenstock insisted that there’s “really no basis to be in court over this.”
Jacques said he does not object on Attrep’s decision.
“I feel neutral,” he said. “Whatever the judge’s decision is, I’m going to abide by it.”
Because the non-contact agreement is not an official mutual restraining order, Jacques said he might consider applying for one in the future.
Now that the temporary restraining order has expired, Serna is asking the court to issue a permanent injunction against Jacques, Basham said.
He said he’s not sure how possible it is for the judge to grant the injunction.
“We’ll see when the judge can set a hearing,” Basham said.
Rosenstock said a permanent injunction will be a long shot on Serna’s part.
“I don’t think they’re going to win,” Rosenstock said. “I don’t think anything happened.”
Attrep is set to schedule another hearing on the case sometime in July, Basham said.