LAKEPORT ? Russell Perdock did not testify Thursday at the trial of Bismarck Dinius, as previously scheduled Wednesday night between attorneys and the Judge J. Michael Byrne.
Dinius was at the tiller of Mark Weber”s sailboat when Capt. Perdock of the Lake County Sheriff Office (LCSO) collided with the vessel in his speedboat April 29, 2006. Perdock was off-duty at the time of the crash. Sailboat passenger Lynn Thornton died as a result of the collision.
District Attorney Jon Hopkins finished interviewing the prosecution”s 29 witnesses and rested the case against Dinius.
Defense attorney Victor Haltom asked that Perdock be made available to testify for the defense, but Hopkins said he didn”t know if Perdock was available. Judge Byrne and councilors did not announce when Perdock will testify.
Dinius is charged with felony boating under the influence and two misdemeanor boating under the influence charges that carry a three-year sentence.
Haltom motioned to acquit Dinius of the felony charge citing the prosecution has yet to show that the defendant was at fault.
Hopkins argued that Dinius was intoxicated, which was a significant factor in the collision, and he thinks the evidence will hold up in an appellate court.
Byrne denied the motion saying he thinks there”s enough evidence for the jury to decide whether the sailboat lights were on and who was at fault.
“We have a jury and that jury has to make those decisions,” Byrne said.
Hopkins presented a stipulation from the coroner”s report that Thornton died as a result of head and neck injuries from the collision and was pronounced dead more than two days later on May 2, 2006.
One witness, Craig Woodworth, chief investigator for the Lake County District Attorney”s Office, testified Thursday about his findings in the case, which he started investigating about two months ago.
Woodworth examined a GPS system from the speedboat to see if they could get a record of its locations, however the dates were inaccurate and he couldn”t pinpoint the location of the collision.
After investigating the cabin lights on the sailboat, Woodworth concluded the cabin lights could conduct electricity and some were on when he tested them in June, he said.
The trial is scheduled to continue with the defense”s case at 9 a.m. today in the Lake County Superior Court at 255 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport.
Contact Katy Sweeny at ksweeny@record-bee.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
