Jury Indicts Salem Man for Texting Ex

A Rockingham County Superior Court jury indicated Jonathan A. Hernandez for allegedly "tampering with witnesses and informants" when he sent text messages to a woman back in April.

The indictment accuses Hernandez of texting the woman, when he knew an official investigation was pending or about to begin, to try to influence her testimony or information conveyed to investigators. The text read, "Just drop the whole thing please help me Jen please say it was unintentional," according to the indictment. A second count alleges he tried to influence the person to withhold testimony in the case.

Hernandez, 23, of 15 Pattee Road in Salem, is accused of stalking in that he was prohibited from having contact with the woman, and that he allegedly had unprivileged physical contact with her "by striking her in the face with his hand," according to court papers.

The alleged stalking involved additional texts to the woman, regarding a custody dispute, including one text that read, "I'm not taking the deal they are giving me I will never respect you again things will never be the same after today I promise you that."

An indictment is not an indication of guilt or conviction; rather, it means a grand jury believed there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial.