Stockton City Council candidate Desiree Lynch did not appear in court this week for hearings on two restraining order cases she filed against former Stockton elected officials, prompting dismissals in both cases and the possibility Lynch could face additional criminal charges following an arrest the previous day in a separate criminal case involving alleged perjury and election fraud.
Lynch’s absence also raised the question of whether she had violated the conditions of her release after being arrested and shortly after released the previous day.
On Thursday, San Joaquin County Superior Court Commissioner Kerry Krueger dismissed Lynch’s civil harassment restraining order cases against former Mayor Anthony Silva and former Vice Mayor Ralph Lee White without prejudice, meaning Lynch can bring the claims to court again in the future.
The temporary restraining orders previously issued against Silva and White were also dismissed, ending the court-ordered restrictions that barred them from contacting or harassing Lynch and required them to stay at least 100 yards away from her and her 18-year old daughter Kaylin R. Gutierrez, at several locations, including their home and workplace.
Lynch sought the restraining orders after alleging Silva and White unlawfully entered an East Oak Street apartment she identified as her home, recorded videos inside and posted her address online. In court filings, she said the incident left her feeling unsafe and asked that both men be barred from contacting or approaching her.
Neither Lynch nor an attorney representing her appeared when the cases were called Thursday afternoon on the third floor of the county superior courthouse in Stockton. Both White and Silva appeared in court with their attorneys.
White was being represented in the case by former San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar, while Silva’s counsel was Jose R. Rodriguez, president and CEO of El Concilio California, a nonprofit social services agency helping low-income and marginalized communities.
White’s and Silva’s case dismissals came one day after Lynch was arrested on five felony election-related charges, including three counts of perjury, stemming from allegations that she falsely represented where she lived while registering to vote and running for the District 5 City Council seat to unseat incumbent Brando Villapudua.
During Thursday’s hearing, Verber Salazar accused Lynch of making false allegations against White and Silva and argued that she had lied to the court when seeking protection against them.
The East Oak Street apartment at the center of the restraining order cases is also one of the addresses prosecutors allege Lynch falsely claimed as her residence. The District 5 City Council candidate is now facing five felonies, including three counts of perjury, a voter registration violation and filing a false declaration of candidacy.
Verber Salazar described Lynch’s accusations against the two men as “terrible allegations” and accused her of filing a false crime report.
“It pisses me off when people lie to court,” Verber Salazar told Krueger.
However, Krueger drew a line between Verber Salazar’s accusations and the matter before her, noting that the restraining order cases were civil proceedings. When the former DA argued that Lynch had lied directly to Krueger in seeking temporary protection, Krueger declined to address the allegation, saying the matter before her was civil and there was no motion on which to rule.
Verber Salazar also raised the issues of Lynch’s absence in connection with the conditions of her bail Wednesday. Under California law, defendants released on their own recognizance must agree to appear at all times and places ordered by the court and comply with other conditions of release.
She argued Lynch’s absence was in violation of her release and said she planned to notify prosecutors. Krueger responded that she could not determine whether Lynch’s failure to appear constituted a violation because that issue involved a separate criminal case.
Lynch did not immediately respond to Stocktonia’s’s attempts to reach her after Thursday’s hearing regarding her absence and Verber Salazar’s allegations.
Verber Salazar told Stocktonia after the hearing that she intends to refer Lynch’s statements in the restraining order proceedings to the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office, arguing prosecutors should review whether Lynch committed additional crimes, including perjury.
She also said she plans to seek $2,500 in attorney fees on White’s behalf and that Rodriguez intends to seek the same amount for Silva.
Attorney disputes Lynch’s account of apartment entry
The dismissed cases stemmed from Lynch’s allegations that White and Silva unlawfully entered an East Oak Street apartment she identified as her home, recorded videos inside and posted her address online.
Outside the courthouse Thursday, Verber Salazar offered a different account of how the two men came to be inside the apartment.
She said the apartment was occupied by a political consultant who had been hospitalized after suffering serious injuries. According to Verber Salazar, Silva had been visiting the consultant at the hospital when the man expressed concern that his belongings had been left unsecured and asked Silva to check on the apartment.
Verber Salazar did not identify the political consultant by name. Stocktonia previously reported that Ted Lehrer, a consultant for Lynch’s campaign, was hospitalized in July after being stabbed at a downtown Stockton bus stop.
Lehrer told Stocktonia on Wednesday afternoon that he has taken a step back from his professional responsibilities to focus on his recovery after being stabbed multiple times while waiting for a bus in downtown Stockton in late July. He declined to comment on Lynch’s arrest.
Silva reportedly contacted White and asked him to accompany him to the residence, according to Verber Salazar. She said the gate to the apartment complex was open and that Silva and White entered the unit to check the consultant’s belongings and photograph the apartment to document its condition.
“They took photographs in order to ensure that nothing was stolen while he was gone,” Verber Salazar said.
Stocktonia reached out to Lehrer on Thursday to ask whether he lived at the apartment, as well as if he had ever directed Silva to enter the residence, or whether Silva and White had permission to be inside at any time. He did not immediately respond.
White came to court Thursday prepared to dispute Lynch’s allegations, according to Verber Salazar.
“We came to court to fight today,” Verber Salazar said. “We brought people who can attest and witnessed everything. We have sworn affidavits. We were ready to come. She didn’t even show up.”
In separate July 29 civil harassment filings against White and Silva, Lynch identified the East Oak Street apartment as her home and alleged the men entered without permission, recorded inside and posted her address online. Lynch told the court she did not personally know either man.
Lynch also reported the alleged unlawful entrance to police who later responded but did not issue an emergency protective order. She reported no physical injuries, no use or threat of a weapon and no previous alleged harassment related to the incident.
The court later granted emergency temporary restraining orders against both men after filing civil harassment complaints against them, which have since been also dismissed.
Lynch had asked the court to prohibit White and Silva from harassing, intimidating, threatening or contacting her and her 18-year-old daughter Kaylin R. Gutierrez, according to court documents. She also requested both remain at least 100 yards away from her, her home, workplace, vehicle, her children’s school and other people listed for protection in the petition.
Verber Salazar accused Lynch of damaging the reputations of White and Silva by publicly accusing them of unlawfully entering her home.
“All this time she’s been allowed to defame my client,” Verber Salazar said. “Where’s the consequence for that?”
Outside the courtroom, Silva reiterated earlier allegations he made to Stocktonia that Lynch filed a false police report to cover up what he described as fraud and “continue to deceive the public.” He also again accused Vice Mayor Jason Lee of involvement.
The criminal complaint filed against Lynch over the alleged residency violations that led to her arrest Wednesday does not identify or allege that another person participated in the alleged fraudulent conduct related to the felony charges she is now facing.
Stocktonia contacted Lee’s office Thursday seeking a response to Silva’s allegation and other claims Verber Salazar made about Lee’s involvement with Lynch’s candidacy. Lee did not immediately respond.
Same apartment at center of felony case
Thursday’s court proceedings came one day after Lynch was arrested on five felony charges related to alleged election fraud.
San Joaquin County District Attorney investigators allege Lynch registered to vote and filed candidate paperwork using residential addresses where she did not live in order to qualify as a candidate for District 5, which encompasses south central Stockton.
One of those addresses is the Doyle Garden Apartments unit on East Oak Street — the same apartment Lynch described as her home when she sought restraining orders against Silva and White.
Prosecutors allege Lynch instead resided in Lodi and north Stockton, located within City Council District 1.
Lynch was arrested Wednesday morning and booked into the San Joaquin County Jail on three counts of perjury, one voter registration violation and one count of filing a false declaration of candidacy. She was released later Wednesday.
Her arraignment, originally scheduled for Thursday afternoon, was moved to Sept. 2.
The District Attorney’s Office said Lynch’s arrest followed a six-week probe by its Bureau of Investigations into potential public corruption after receiving a referral from the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office following the June primary.
Prosecutors allege Lynch used two addresses where she did not reside in connection with her voter registration and candidacy: Harry’s Cocktail Lounge on East Charter Way and the Doyle Garden Apartments on East Oak Street.
The DA alleges Lynch committed perjury on three occasions between November 2025 and March and continued making false representations through Aug. 17.
If convicted on all five counts, Lynch faces a maximum sentence of six years and eight months in prison, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Dispute began weeks before arrest
Questions about how Silva and White entered the East Oak Street apartment became public weeks before Lynch’s arrest.
On July 28, Vice Mayor Lee called on the Stockton Police Department to investigate allegations that Silva and White had entered Lynch’s residence without authorization and posted videos showing its interior and address.
“This is not about politics — it is about public safety and the rule of law,” Lee said at the time.
Lynch said in the same release that having her home “allegedly entered, filmed, and publicly exposed” left her feeling “deeply violated and unsafe.” She filed the civil harassment restraining order requests against Silva and White the following day.
Silva had meanwhile publicly questioned Lynch’s District 5 residency, pointing to videos recorded inside the East Oak Street apartment and a property record he said connected Lynch to an address in Lodi.
Stocktonia previously reviewed Lynch’s candidate paperwork and confirmed that she listed the East Oak Street apartment as her residence. Stocktonia had not independently verified whether Lynch lived there during the period required to qualify as a District 5 candidate.
Lynch was asked last week to address questions about her residency and provide documentation supporting it but did not respond.
Thursday’s dismissals did not settle the competing accounts of what happened at the East Oak Street apartment. Krueger did not determine whether Silva and White entered without authorization, nor did she make a finding on Verber Salazar’s allegations that Lynch lied in seeking the restraining orders.
Lynch did not immediately respond Thursday to questions about why she missed the hearings or whether she intends to pursue the restraining order cases again. She also did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday following her release on bail.
Her separate criminal case remains pending, with an arraignment scheduled for Sept. 2. The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.
Cassie Dickman Contributed to this report.