Restraining order on city official extended

A Lemon Grove council member will continue to be barred from regular contact with her husband after a judge extended a restraining order against her.

Liana LeBaron and her spouse will be allowed “brief and peaceful” exchanges to negotiate a divorce, according to an amended order approved Tuesday by San Diego Superior Court Judge Shereen Charlick. LeBaron will also be allowed to visit the home they co-own to divide up property, the judge said.

She must still stay away from her husband’s vehicles, dog and workplace after her arrest last month on a domestic violence charge.

The changes to the restraining order were requested by LeBaron’s husband, an El Cajon police officer. He confirmed in court that they are married. (It had previously not been clear from public records if they still were.)

LeBaron’s husband has written in court records that she “would hit me, punch me, bite me, kick me,” has “thrown items at me” and “threatened to make false accusations to have me fired from work.”

LeBaron previously denied abusing her husband. Both declined to comment after the morning hearing, which lasted less than 15 minutes at the court’s East County division in El Cajon. Neither LeBaron nor her husband was accompanied by lawyers, and the two were polite in person, rarely looking at or addressing each other.

While LeBaron’s husband filed photos with the court detailing alleged abuse, those records had not yet been provided to LeBaron, the judge said.

Both sides must have an opportunity to review evidence before a hearing. The photos are not public records and were not available to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

The couple now have until June 7 to share evidence with each other and the court. Neither plans to call witnesses, LeBaron and her husband said. The next hearing is June 14.

LeBaron has also been accused of harassing city staff members and using a racial slur against the mayor since her election in late 2020. She has denied those accusations, and the city has not yet released investigations into her behavior.