For two nights in a row, Monday, Aug. 13, and Tuesday, Aug. 14; KGO Channel 7 focused 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 that 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.
Day 1
The first part of a KGO broadcast series on a 2006 Clear Lake boating accident that caused one woman”s death and involved the Lake County Chief Deputy Sheriff aired as the first order of business on the channel”s 6 p.m. news Monday, Aug. 13.
The night-time accident has drawn attention both locally and in the Bay Area from both KGO and Latitude 38, a Mill Valley sailing and marine magazine. It occurred in the dark of April 29, 2006 at around 9:30 p.m. when Lake County Chief Deputy Sheriff Russell Perdock”s 24-foot Baja motorboat struck a 27-foot O”Day sailboat operated by Charmichael resident Bismarch Dinius, killing Willows resident Lynn Thornton.
The segment accuses the Lake County Sheriff”s and District Attorney”s offices of “trying to protect one of their own,” citing an investigation by the Sacramento Sheriff”s Office Marine Division that states Perdock was traveling at an unsafe speed.
“That”s an extremely vague standard,” said D.A. Jon Hopkins in a late Monday night interview with the Record-Bee, echoing a statement he gave in the KGO segment that had aired four hours earlier. Hopkins compared the boating accident to a vehicle without headlights pulling out in front of a moving car. “If you”re driving down street at night and somebody pulls out in front of you you”re not violating the safe speed law,” said Hopkins.
Record-Bee reports immediately following the April 2006 incident cite witness statements that the sailboat had no running lights on at the time of the collision. Investigative reporter Dan Noyes” relates the statements of at least two witnesses who did see lights on the boat.
Prosecuting the case is Deputy D.A. David McKillop. He told the Record-Bee in a June 29 interview that while people on the sailboat said they could see the cabin lights, “no other credible witnesses said they could see it.”
When asked if Perdock ? estimated by one witness interviewed in the segment to be going between 40 and 50 miles per hour ? was going too fast for the conditions, McKillop said, “Possibly, yes, but would you expect a sailboat out in front of you with no lights on? There”s a jury instruction that goes with this that would read, ?Calcrim 595: the speed of travel alone does not establish whether a person did or did not violate the basic speed law.”” McKillop clarified that basic speed law this way: “The only law out there is that he can”t drive faster than the conditions allow.”
McKillop said he gets a lot of calls about that, so he”s prepared. He gave the example of a boat going 20 miles per hour. “You still wouldn”t have been able to see the boat. How could he have seen that boat? That”s the question…. You”ve got to be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person would”ve been able to stop. We don”t know at what speed he would”ve been able to stop.”
An investigator from the Sacramento Sheriff”s Office is quoted in the segment giving “idle speed” as a safe running speed for the night time conditions under which the 2006 accident occurred.
“A number of people that see the same thing happen come up with different versions ? it”s inevitable,” said Hopkins. “Our job is to try and sort through whose testimony or version is the most accurate.
“He didn”t want to hear any of the evidence that we had,” said D.A. Jon Hopkins. “He runs out and talks to a witness or two and puts on camera, but he doesn”t get any of the background that”s there, which is what you”ll hear in the trial.”
The report also featured an interview with Bismarck Dinius, who was at the sailboat”s rudder and reportedly under the influence of alcohol when Perdock”s powerboat hit it. A June 1 press release from the D.A.”s Office states that the sailboat was underway without running lights, and that it had not maintained a lookout.
Dinius faces a felony count of vehicular manslaughter involving a vessel, a violation of California Penal Code section 192(c)(1), and boating under the influence of alcohol, a misdemeanor violation of the California Harbors and Navigation Code sections 655(b) and (c), according to a June 1 D.A.”s Office press release.
The report says Dinius” lawyer is gearing up for a defense, the first step of which will be to try to remove the case from the Lake County D.A.”s Office.
Mitchell, seen in a wide-angle shot during an interview with D.A. Jon Hopkins in the five-minute segment, said in a late Monday night phone conversation with the Record-Bee, “I”m not going to answer questions about a year-old story.” Mitchell said he was busy and would give the Record-Bee an interview on Wednesday.
Vice Commander Betty A. Strach of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 11N 08 08 in Lake County did confirm late Monday night that there is no speed limit on Clear Lake, other than dock and swim areas that extend 200 feet out into the water and are marked by buoys.
Strach teaches boating safety courses for the auxiliary, and commented, “Who would run a boat flat-out when you can”t see?
Noyes” report promised more on questions about blood alcohol levels taken after the accident and how the Lake County Sheriff”s Office handled the case. The June 1 D.A.”s Office press release states the case was sent to the Attorney General”s Office for review “to avoid any appearance of impropriety that might exist because of the involvement of the Chief Deputy Sheriff.” The release states that the review found no reason for the Lake County D.A.”s Office to step down from the case.
Day 2
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.
