Former Lathrop Manteca Fire District Chief Gene Neely was scheduled to appear in court in Manteca Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. to answer to civil charges that he threatened Lathrop City Councilwoman Minnie Diallo.

By 9:31 a.m., Diallo had withdrawn her legal action – bringing a more than month-long saga to a close.

According to Neely, he appeared in court with his attorney and his witnesses and intended to defend himself when the court and his counsel received an email from the attorney representing Diallo asking that it be withdrawn.

“I’m happy that the matter has been brought to a conclusion,” said Neely, who retired from the district earlier this year. “I am adamant – I deny all allegations, and I’m happy that Councilmember Diallo recognizes that fact.

“For more than 28 years, my sole focus has always been what is best for the city.”

During the proceedings, Diallo’s attorney – Allen Sawyer – phoned in to the court and spoke on behalf of his client.

Neely said that Sawyer wanted an on-the-record comment from Neely that he would be moving out of state – something that Neely has said that his family is flirting with – and he was unwilling to provide that since the reason for the move had nothing to do with the case against him.

“Our choice to move out of the area is solely based on what is best for our own interests,” Neely said. “The decision to do that had absolutely nothing to do with the case.”

While Diallo appears to have filed for a temporary restraining order on her own, she was represented by Sawyer shortly thereafter and according to him, the decision to withdraw the case hinged on the fact that Neely backed out of his council appointment and had planned on leaving the area – meaning that it would be highly unlikely that he would have any contact with Diallo in the future.

In a comment to the Stockton Record, Diallo said that the only reason that she chose with withdraw the action – which sought a restraining order against Neely and his wife Rozelle – was because they planned on leaving the area.

“After the last court hearing where discussions were held with the judge and Mr. Neely’s counsel, it became clear that the parties were not going to be in close proximity in the future,” Sawyer said in a statement. “Specifically, Mr. Neely has withdrawn his name from the Lathrop City committee, and he is moving out of state. Likewise, there has been no further contact since the Emergency Protective Order was issued by the San Joaquin County Superior Court.

“Therefore, Ms. Diallo has voluntarily decided to end this legal action at this point. She appreciates all of the support she has received from the residents of Lathrop during this trying time.”

Neither Diallo nor Sawyer were physically present in the courtroom on Thursday morning.

Because the temporary restraining order that she sought was initially granted, Neely had to surrender all his guns to an authorized firearms dealer for storage until the court ruled on the case. In the court’s first hearing, Judge Tony Agbayani dissolved the temporary restraining order but ordered both parties and the witnesses that were subpoenaed by Neely’s team to appear at a later date.

The incident that spurred the legal wrangling – which also included Lathrop City Manager Steve Salvatore, who also had to appear in court after Diallo sought a restraining order against him which wasn’t granted, and was included as a witness for Neely along with Mayor Sonny Dhaliwal – occurred on Oct. 22 after Diallo voted against appointing Neely to the Measure C Oversight Committee.

The council voted 4-1 – with Diallo dissenting – to appoint Neely to the board that is tasked with ensuring that Measure C money is spent in accordance with the stated purpose of the sales tax increase that was overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2012.

Neely and his wife Rozelle stayed after the meeting to ask Diallo about the reason that she stated she would be voting against his appointment – which had to do with a video taken by Neely’s wife that was sent to members of the council before the meeting, and apparently showed a house on fire in Lathrop with a comment about watching the response times of the agency – and the tense conversation that followed ultimately led to Diallo seeking legal protection.

Neely maintains that he never threatened her in any way, while Diallo continues to stick to her claims about the incident – according to The Record.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.