Tiffany Revelle
Record-Bee staff
LAKE COUNTY — For the second night in a row, KGO Channel 7 focused Tuesday on a fatal boating accident in its 6 p.m. news. A total of 14 minutes was devoted to the investigation between the two segments, with the first airing at the top of the news hour on Monday night and the follow-up taking the number two spot Tuesday night.
At the heart of the controversy over the case is the fact that it is the operator of the sailboat which was struck in the collision who is charged with the death of Willows resident Lynn Thornton, who was one of the sailboat”s passengers, not Chief Deputy Sheriff Russell Perdock, who was driving the 24-foot Baja motorboat that rammed into it in the dark of night on April 29, 2006.
Department of Justice Crime Lab blood test results released to the Record-Bee May 4 2006 revealed that the sailboat”s owner, Mark Weber of Willows, had a blood alcohol level of .18, more than twice the legal limit of .08. Dinius” blood alcohol level was reported at .12. Both men were taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital and gave blood samples, according to a Lake County Sheriff”s Office press release following the incident.
The release also states that Perdock gave a blood sample at Redbud Hospital. He was found to have no alcohol in his system, according to the test results.
Producer Dan Noyes” KGO report calls into question the validity of that blood test, citing a label on the blood sample that shows Perdock was tested “more than 24 hours after the incident.”
Lake County District Attorney Jon Hopkins told the Record-Bee Tuesday night that a technician had written the wrong date and that Perdock was tested at 11:30 p.m. that night.
A recusal motion Dinius” defense attorney filed to remove the case from the Lake County District Attorney”s Office contains Perdock”s written statement that he was transported from the scene at 11 p.m. the night of the accident, and that the blood test was taken at 11:30 p.m.
“Keep in mind that this (blood sample) was close to the changing of the date, just before midnight,” said Hopkins. “There were a whole bunch of other witnesses to when that blood sample was taken ? medical personnel, law enforcement officers. Dan Noyes doesn”t mention that; he makes it sound like there”s only that one person,” Hopkins added.
Noyes” report quotes sailboat passenger Zina Dotti who puts Perdock at the scene until at least 12:30 a.m. after the accident, when she told KGO a deputy came to escort them to their car.
The report also alleges that Lake County Sheriff”s Office investigators “refused to take statements from two witnesses.”
Doug Jones, who owns a marina on Clear Lake, told Noyes he had seen the sailboat”s cabin and stern lights on, and that a deputy refused to take his statement on the grounds that “they had already proven that there were no lights on.”
“Let”s assume there are 50 people who see this take place at different stages,” refuted Hopkins. “Two say they saw lights, the rest didn”t. Is that important to a jury trial? Yes. Is it important to an ambush reporter? No. Our analysis is based on looking at everything. We know we have to present this evidence to a jury and we have to convince the jury beyond a reasonable doubt. So that”s how we make our decision.”
Dinius is scheduled for arraignment Aug. 31 at 1:30 p.m. in Dept. 2 of the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport. The recusal motion will also be heard at that time.
“This tragedy is a bad situation, and no one can tell the story and make it a good one,” said Lake County Sheriff Rodney Mitchell following part two of KGO”s broadcast. “But someone can tell the story and make it worse than what it really is, and I”m afraid that”s what has happened here and it surprises me and dissappoints me,” Mitchell added.
Mitchell contends that the broadcast omitted key details, such as statements by other witnesses that would contradict those quoted in the report.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
