LAKEPORT ? A motion to have the jury in the Bismarck Dinius trial visit the scene of the accident was continued on Thursday morning.
District Attorney Jon Hopkins said that Defense Attorney Victor Haltom was attempting to create a re-enactment under conditions on the lake that cannot be substantially similar to those on the night of April 29, 2006, when Dinius was at the tiller of Mark Weber”s sailboat. The sailboat was struck by a personal powerboat piloted by Lake County Sheriff”s Office (LCSO) Capt. Russell Perdock, who was off-duty.
“It”s not like revisiting a dangerous curve on the Hopland Grade after an accident. There are no skid marks in the water,” Hopkins said.
Hopkins also pointed out that the conditions on the lake are not the same at any given time.
Haltom proposed in the motion that jurors be taken out on Clear Lake on a pontoon boat at night.
Judge J. Michael Byrne is expected to make a final ruling on the motion after opening statements are made at the onset of the trial on Tuesday.
A review of various issues took place from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. Thursday focusing on the relevance of certain evidence and witnesses for the purposes of a fair and expedient trial.
