JESSICA KALASHO BRINGS OWN ATTORNEY TO HEARING IN FRAUD AND HARASSMENT CASE; BEN KALASHO ARRIVES SEPARATELY WITHOUT LEGAL COUNSEL

By Paul Kruze, Contributing Editor

Photo, left to right: Linda Charry, Jimmie Parker, Donald Wolf, Jessica Kalasho, and Ben Kalasho  

December 13, 2018 (San Diego)—The much-anticipated Dec. 7 judgment debtor’s exam in San Diego Superior Court for El Cajon Councilman Ben Kalasho and his wife, Jessica, ended inconclusively yet again, with Judge Kenneth J. Medel ordering it continued until Friday, Dec. 14.

With bench warrants held over from previous appearances and the prospect of arrest with bail set at $5,000, both Kalashos showed up at Friday’s hearings, arriving separately. Just before the 10 a.m. scheduled appearance, Jessica entered the courtroom with her new legal counsel, San Diego attorney Donald E. Wolf. Some 20 minutes later, Ben Kalasho entered without the attorney who represented him in the past, James Finigan. Councilman Kalasho sat one row behind and several seats to the left, away from his wife. He sat beside her only for the swearing in (photo, left).

Plaintiff Lina Charry represented herself, while attorney Jimmie Davis Parker represented plaintiffs Zhala Tawfiq, Paris Kargar, and The 3 Boys Taco Shop (now doing business as Tres Taqueria at the Jamul Casino food court.)

ECM reached out to Finigan for an explanation about his absence, but did not receive a response.

During the swearing in administered by Medel, Wolf clarified, “I am here only representing Jessica Kalasho, and not Ben Kalasho.”

Subsequently, litigants in the fraud and harassment lawsuit (except for Ben Kalasho and Parker) proceeded into a conference room. As Charry and Wolf began the judgement debtor examination of Jessica Kalasho, Wolf started going through court filings made by Charry. He then asked to discuss the process without the presence of ECM, Charry’s paralegal, and a court reporter; Jessica Kalasho stayed behind.

Some 50 minutes later, Wolf returned and summoned Jessica Kalasho to participate in the private conversation. Shortly before noon, all parties were called back into the courtroom and Judge Medel ordered the proceedings  continued to Friday.

Wolf offered no comment to ECM about the substance of the private discussions. Parker said only, “The wheels of justice grind forward very slowly.”

The civil case against the Kalashos include allegationst that they defamed and harassed people on social media through their own accounts and additional accounts that they controlled under phony names. Both Ben and Jessica Kalasho' have recently deleted their Facebook pages and some other social media accounts.

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