Judge spends night in jail with former soldier he sentenced

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Lou Olivera, a district court judge and Gulf War veteran, sentenced Green Beret Joe Serna to one night in jail for violating his probation and lying about a urine test.

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Serna is a former Special Forces soldier who has been deployed four times. Since his retirement, he has used alcohol to fight battlefield demons.

“I’ve lost a lot of friends and I take my bumps as well and I didn’t want to talk about it,” said Serna.

Serna’s fight to get sober landed him in Cumberland County’s Veterans Treatment Court, which is run by District Court Judge Lou Olivera.

“It’s a treatment court, but it’s a treatment court that’s targeted to those veterans who keep on appearing in the court system for particular reasons,” Olivera said.

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Olivera drove Serna to the jail in Robeson County. The cell door closed and Serna sat on the cot. He said the door rattled, then opened, and he was shocked at what happened next.

“The judge comes in … and so we’re sitting there and they lock the door and I realized, oh, we’re going to stay the night. He’s going to stay the night here with me,” Serna said. 8

The two men spent most of the night talking about their military service.

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Olivera said he has never before spent the night in prison with someone he has sentenced and doesn't know if he would do it again.

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