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By Karen Pearlman
File photo by Miriam Raftery
June 18, 2025 (El Cajon) – Just weeks after they stood in San Diego Superior Court for a trial about code enforcement issues at their Fletcher Hills home, former El Cajon City Councilman Bessmon “Ben” Kalasho and his wife, Jessica Deddeh Kalasho, skipped out on a scheduled June 9 court hearing they were required to attend. There are now arrest warrants out for them, even as they are slated to appear in Superior Court here on a separate matter on July 2 (postponed from June 18).
The June 9 hearing in San Diego Superior Court was to start the beginning of the couple’s eight-day jail sentences, which each received previously for criminal contempt-of-court findings.
The Kalashos, who say they are now living in North Carolina, now have new arrest warrants out for them. San Diego Superior Court Judge Wendy Behan issued a pair of $25,000 bench warrants for the two who were initially ordered two years ago to serve jail sentences -- but still haven’t.
In August 2023, Judge Kenneth Medel found both Ben and Jessica Kalasho guilty on four counts each of contempt of court in a civil defamation case won by attorney Lina Charry. The Kalashos were ordered to report to San Diego Superior Court in September to being serving an eight-day jail sentence, as well as pay fines of $1,000 apiece for each count, but never showed up.
The two were granted a stay to appear in court for an April 23 code enforcement hearing in a lawsuit filed by the City of El Cajon over alleged code violations and unpermitted major construction at the couple’s Cliffdale Road home, with Ben Kalasho appearing as his own attorney during the hearing, which was ongoing for several days. In May, related to the code enforcement case brought on by the city of El Cajon, Judge Joel Wohlfeil found that the Kalashos made unpermitted construction changes using unlicensed contractors, but also ruled against the City of El Cajon’s request to impose over $2.5 million in fines.
Wohlfeil also denied without prejudice the city’s request to put the home into receivership to be sold to pay the fines. That means that fines or receivership could be allowed in the future if the Kalashos fail to comply with the court orders.
Wohlfeil also ruled that Ben Kalasho is also the same person as Maximilian Von Ayers, who is listed on property records in San Diego County as a trust manager. The city of El Cajon testified at the April hearings that Kalasho created the alias of Von Ayers to avoid paying the code enforcement fines.
The Kalashos were set to be back in court again on July 4 for a status conference in the code enforcement case about objections to the court’s statement of decision, set an inspection of the Kalashos’ home, and a briefing schedule to resolve undetermined issues, as well as develop a management order to resolve the balance of claims and defenses.
Civil Case Started Five Years Ago
The civil defamation case against the Kalashos was filed back in 2017, a year after Kalasho was elected to the El Cajon City Council.
Although the case originally was part of a broader defamation case with several other defendants who settled their cases, Charry refused to settle and ultimately won her case.
Kalasho was found by the court to have falsely claimed Charry had sex in public places, in retaliation after she sued him over a vehicle in a car wash he owned crashed into her property next door.
Charry, who still practices law locally, has been keeping an eye on the case.
“They were convicted and (were) sentenced to pay restitution and serve a jail sentence,” she said. “What we are used to from watching criminal trials like for murder is that as soon as someone is convicted, they get cuffed and taken to jail right then and there from the courtroom. They don’t get to go home and come back a later date. However, in this case, it was done a little differently.
“Because the Kalashos’ crimes did not stem from dangerous acts, the courtroom gave them some leeway allowing them to get their affairs in order and ordering them to turn themselves in to jail voluntarily after two months to serve their time without anyone needing to go out and arrest them and drag them to jail. The problem is that they didn’t turn themselves in in September 2023 like they were supposed to.”
Charry said the court issued warrants for their arrest, so if a law enforcement official pulls up their warrants, they are to arrest them immediately and take them to jail.
However, Charry said that this past February, the Kalashos asked Behan to pause the warrants for their arrest and promised to turn themselves in voluntarily in June 2025.
“She granted that request so they were able to travel freely without worrying about being arrested for the last four months,” Charry said. “(But) as expected, they didn’t show up to serve their sentences, so Judge Behan reissued the warrants for their arrest again. So, if they come across any cops who pull up these warrants, they will cuff them and take them to jail.”
The bench warrants mean that if the Kalashos get arrested, they can pay $25,000 bail, which lets them free on the promise that they will appear in court. If they don’t appear then they lose their bail, Charry explained.
Charry said she believes that the district attorney is ultimately responsible for enforcement and potentially, seeking extradition of the couple.
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