The City of El Cajon filed a civil lawsuit Tuesday against Bessmon "Ben" Kalasho, a former councilmember, and his wife, Jessica Deddeh, for alleged continuous code compliance violations at an El Cajon property they own and operate as a short-term rental.
In the complaint, the city of El Cajon alleges that the home owned by Deddeh and Kalasho is listed on travel site Trivago as “The Historical Chamber House In East San Diego With Optional Breakfast," and has been the subject of several code compliance investigations and complaints for more than four years.
Code compliance officers in September 2019, "observed and took photographs of unpermitted construction of an outdoor stair and a deck and an unpermitted second kitchen in the primary dwelling," the complaint alleges.
The lawsuit claims that each time code compliance officers visited the home, the property was found to be in violation of the city's municipal code.
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The city conducted code compliance investigations at least six times beginning September 12, 2019, and continuing on March 22, 2021, June 10, 2021, June 22, 2021, July 8, 2021, January 10, 2022, according to the complaint.
In addition to multiple warning letters the city sent Kalasho and Deddeh, they also levied fines against the couple. Those fines, now in the amount of $2,000 per day, have reached more than an estimated $1.4 Million, according to statistics included in Tuesday's court filing.
Deddeh and Kalasho, remain fugitives after failing to appear for a hearing in an El Cajon courtroom in August 2023. The couple moved to North Carolina and tried to push back their jail time for contempt of court until 2024 for multiple reasons, including Deddeh’s pregnancy, but a judge denied their request.
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$25,000 arrest warrants were issued Sept. 1 for the pair after they failed to report to jail to serve their eight-day sentences.
Kalasho resigned from his job as councilmember in 2019 after he was accused of harassing his colleagues and contestants of a beauty pageant he created, as well as creating fake online profiles to troll people and businesses he had problems with.
A copy of the city's complaint can be viewed below:
NBC 7 attempted to contact Deddeh, Kalasho and his former attorney Wednesday for comment but did not receive a response.
