Judge denies former supervisorial candidate's request to dismiss case

A Kern County Superior Court judge on Tuesday denied the request of former Kern County Board of Supervisors candidate David Abbasi to dismiss the charges filed against him.

Abbasi, who had run for the 5th District seat, pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of making annoying 911 calls and repeated calls with the intent to annoy or harass.

Abbasi, 45, has called the charges filed by the Kern County District Attorney’s Office “absolutely absurd.”

After he failed to appear in court last week for his arraignment, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. The court recalled the bench warrant Tuesday during Abbasi’s hearing, according to Kristin Davis, the Kern County Superior Court public information officer.

Davis said in an email to The Californian that Abbasi appeared in court Tuesday and represented himself when he asked the court to dismiss his case. However, Judge Chad Louie denied Abbasi’s request.

Abbasi was arrested by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office on March 24 and 29 in the 2100 block of Edison Highway on suspicion of making multiple 911 calls. In an email to The Californian on April 23, Abbasi said he called 911 for help after being attacked and that he needed to be hospitalized.

Following Tuesday’s hearing, Abbasi will be represented by the Kern County Public Defender’s Office. His pretrial hearing is scheduled for May 17.

Abbasi came in fourth in votes for the 5th District supervisorial seat in the March race.