Barstow Truck Parts embezzlement trial starts

BARSTOW — The trial of a couple accused of embezzling approximately $500,000 six years ago from a Barstow business began in a Barstow courtroom on Thursday.

Wesley and Joyce Jaska, of Apple Valley, are accused of multiple counts of grand theft, perjury and tax evasion dating back to 2001, according to court documents. The prosecution claims the couple stole money from Barstow Truck Parts, where Joyce was a full-time employee and Wesley a part-time employee. They were arrested for suspicion of the charges in 2002, pleaded not guilty in 2005 and have been in and out of court for pre-trial arguments since.

District Attorney Richard Golden said the trial started with even more pre-trial motions brought by the defense to dismiss the case and change its location. Judge John Gibson decided to wait for trial testimony to decide if the case should be dismissed on violations of due process and the defendants’ right to a speedy trial. Gibson denied a motion to change the venue and tossed out two of the charges against the defendants because they were filed after the six-year statute of limitations expired.

Jury selection in the case will begin on Nov. 13, Golden said. However, he does not expect to present opening statements or call witnesses until January because of court scheduling. Golden hopes to finish with his case by the end of January. He said Gibson intends to instruct the jury that case could last until March.

The case has taken a long time to go to trial because of its complexity. The District Attorney’s office originally filed 32 charges against Joyce and six against Wesley. Golden said he has whittled the charges down to only five counts of grand theft and perjury and tax evasion charges against Joyce and only perjury and tax evasion against Wesley. Golden has also sifted through mountains of paperwork, presenting more than 6,000 pages to the defense.

“There was an awful amount of documents,” he said. “We had thousands of pages, maybe 10,000 pages, of documents to go through.”

The documents will form the backbone of the prosecution’s case, Golden said. He also intends to call witnesses from the franchise tax board and solicit evidence from other witnesses about the Jaskas’ financial transactions.

In July 2002, Barstow police officers searched the Jaskas’ Apple Valley home after receiving search warrants based on accusations of embezzlement by Barstow Truck Parts. According to the warrants, Joyce had written larger payroll checks for herself and her husband, Wesley, a Barstow Fire Protection District Fire Captain who also worked at the business part-time, issued fraudulent corporate checks and used company credit cards to finance personal expenses. The Jaskas’ denied the charges and filed a defamation of character suit, which was dropped in 2003.

Joyce and Wesley have retained separate defense lawyers. Neither could be reached for comment.

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