LAKEPORT ? District Attorney Jon Hopkins called four rebuttal witnesses Friday in an effort to challenge defense witnesses in the trial against Bismarck Dinius.
Dinius was at the tiller of Mark Weber”s sailboat on April 29, 2006 when Capt. Russell Perdock of the Lake County Sheriff”s Office crashed into the vessel with his speedboat. Perdock was off duty at the time of the collision. Sailboat passenger Lynn Thornton died as a result of the crash.
Lake County Publishing reporter Denise Rockenstein testified she heard two of John Jansen”s friends talking at Lake House Inn at Clearlake about racing Perdock the day of the collision.
“They were talking about having raced on the lake the day of the incident, having raced Russell Perdock,” Rockenstein said.
“I basically told them that wasn”t true, he could be accounted for all day and they shouldn”t talk to me about it,” Rockenstein said.
Jansen testified Wednesday that he raced Perdock across Clear Lake a few hours before the crash.
Jansen “didn”t really offer anything to the conversation,” but he was paying attention, she said.
Dinius is charged with felony boating under the influence and two misdemeanor boating under the influence charges that carry a three-year sentence.
Sgt. John Gregore of LCSO testified he tried to contact witnesses and took a couple recorded interviews at the shore on the night of the collision.
Gregore recorded his interview with Henry “Ed” Dominguez and Zina Dotti, who were on the sailboat during the crash, he said.
Dotti said Perdock was going really fast, but Gregore didn”t put that in his report, he said.
Dominguez wasn”t sure about lighting on the sailboat when Gregore interviewed him, Gregore said.
Dominguez told Gregore he saw Dinius and Weber intoxicated the night of the collision, Gregore said.
In Gregore”s interview with Dominguez the night of the collision, Dominguez described Dinius and Weber as “hammered, well maybe not hammered, but they definitely had been drinking.”
On Tuesday Dominguez testified that on the night of the crash Dinius looked “hammered up” meaning happy but not intoxicated.
Weber had red, watery eyes, slurred speech and an odor of alcohol when Gregore spoke with him, Gregore said.
The night of the collision Gregore interviewed Peter Erickson, who helped tow the sailboat, and two witnesses who were fishing at the time, Gregore said.
Gregore wasn”t constantly within hearing distance of Perdock after the collision at the shore, but he didn”t hear the officer say anything about having a soda at Konocti, Gregore said.
The sergeant tried to get honest statements from witnesses that night and didn”t do anything different because Perdock was involved, Gregore said.
“My thoughts out there, when I was taking interviews, was I didn”t want to be there,” he said.
Deputy David Garzoli of LCSO testified when deputies radio information to dispatch, it gets logged into a computer record system. Reports get logged into the same system, which can be searched.
No information was logged about a LCSO deputy going to interview Jean Strak at her tanning salon within the time she guessed the interview occurred in her testimony, Garzoli said. On occasion, officers don”t radio in that they”re stopping to talk to witnesses and no information would go into a system unless a report was made, Garzoli said.
Sgt. Dennis Ostini of LCSO testified on the evening of the crash he aimed to talk to people who witnessed the collision, move the boats and see Perdock and Dinius before they were discharged from the hospital, he said.
Ostini was not aware of witness accounts from Jean Strak or Peter Erickson, he said.
He didn”t hear Perdock say anything about having a soda the night of the collision, Ostini said.
Ostini testified that he accompanied defense witness William Chilcott to examine the powerboat”s speedometer for needle slap, to see what speed it was going. Chilcott used black and natural light.
“He pointed to a speck on the gauge and said, ?There, that”s evidence of needle slap,”” Ostini said.
The sergeant told Chilcott he thought he was mistaken, Ostini testified.
“It was a speck of dust,” Ostini said.
The trial is scheduled to continue with rebuttal witnesses and closing statements 9 a.m. Tuesday in the Lake County Superior Court at 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
Contact Katy Sweeny at ksweeny@record-bee.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
