The criminal case against former Santa Rosa Junior College employee Jordan Mead proceeded in July with a readiness hearing, which resulted in a continuance of his preliminary trial until October.
Mead was arrested March 19 on charges of felony stalking and misdemeanor harassment after months of emailing college officials and employees about a matter he views as dangerous and in need of a “whistleblowing” campaign at Santa Rosa Junior College.
The subject concerned what he called the illegal rerouting of emergency 911 calls on campus to the SRJC police dispatch rather than Santa Rosa Police Department. SRJC President, Dr. Angélica Garcia, previously told The Oak Leaf News that the school was unintentionally out of compliance with the law for nine months, from March to November 2024, when they attempted to improve response times for the college’s 911 call routing system.
Within that time period, four emergency calls were made, and all four were deemed nonemergent, according to Garcia. Mead believed this act was dangerous to the SRJC community, and the District needed to punish those involved with the rerouting.
Mead sent multiple emails to the entire SRJC faculty and staff throughout the fall 2024 semester, a few of which contained song lyrics with subliminal messaging, such as containing the words “kill, kill (oh-oh-oh-oh).” Some SRJC staff on the email threads felt uneasy and threatened, while others thought it was simply strange.
Mead’s campaign culminated in an alleged confrontation with Rohnert Park police outside the home of Kate Jolley, SRJC’s vice president. Jolley was Mead’s supervising administrator; he sought answers regarding his concerns about the alleged safety violation.
Rohnert Park Police arrested Mead on March 19 after he alerted them he was en route to Jolley’s home to discuss his grievances with the District. He told them he was going to speak with her by “ringing her doorbell until she came to the door.”
Mead previously told The Oak Leaf that he did not have malevolent intent, and he did not actually step on Jolley’s private property.
Since his initial arrest in March, Mead’s case has had several continuances. He initially made bail at $250,000 and then again when it was set to $1 million after he allegedly violated the emergency protective order (EPO) that had been enacted.
A criminal protective order prevents Mead from being on SRJC property until his scheduled preliminary hearing in October.
On July 10, Mead’s attorney, Ibrahim Agil, requested a continuance in the criminal case due to a technological error in the discovery process. The defense could only access the discovery on July 8, just six days before the preliminary hearing was set to take place.
“The discovery contained is not only numerous but also substantial in content that requires more time than is available to adequately prepare prior to the currently scheduled preliminary hearing,” Agil stated in his motion to the court.
In the July 14 hearing, Agil explained that the discovery was “lost in space on the way to me.”
Prosecution did not object to the continuance, and Judge Laura Passaglia granted it.
Mead’s preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 6 at Sonoma County Superior Court.
