LAKEPORT ? With a point-blank gunshot to the chest, an abdominal gunshot wound, at least seven head fractures and eight cuts, Ronald Greiner lived through life-threatening injuries, a deputy said Tuesday during the hearing against Thomas Dudney.
Dudney, 59, of Santa Rosa allegedly shot, beat and hogtied Greiner, 49, on Oct. 20 at the Lakeport man”s home on South Main Street behind the Record-Bee building.
Three Lake County Sheriff”s Office deputies testified Tuesday in the preliminary hearing against Dudney for the alleged attempted murder.
Deputy David Fidjeland of LCSO testified he is also a licensed EMT paramedic and on Monday spoke with Dr. Brian Schmidt, the chief of trauma at Santa Rosa Memorial who treated Greiner.
Fidjeland testified Schmidt said when Greiner “was first brought to the hospital he immediately required assistance of four other doctors so that Greiner didn”t decompensate and die.” Doctors put a chest tube in Greiner to help him breath and operated on him.
District Attorney Jon Hopkins added a charge of simple mayhem to Dudney”s nine other charges that include: attempted premeditated murder, aggravated mayhem, torture, home invasion robbery in concert with another, first-degree residential burglary, assault with a firearm, assault with a blunt force object, assault likely to produce great bodily injury and serious battery.
Three of the charges carry a life sentence. Special allegations that great bodily injury was inflicted and use of a firearm accompany the charges.
Greiner had a gunshot wound to the upper right chest that collapsed his lung spreading air and blood, Fidjeland said. Schmidt described it as a “snake shot” with pellets or BBs of different sizes causing damage.
“That gunshot wound appeared to be a contact shot because there was powder around the entry,” Fidjeland said.
Greiner also had a gunshot wound to the left abdomen at the bottom of his rib cage that didn”t penetrate past the skin into the abdominal cavity and wasn”t serious, Fidjeland said.
The right chest gunshot wound was serious and “could have caused death if left untreated,” Fidjeland relayed from Schmidt.
Both of Greiner”s orbital bones around the eyes were broken, as well as his nose, cheek bones, jaw, skull and ribs, Fidjeland testified Schmidt said. A blunt weapon may have caused the broken bones, Fidjeland said. Greiner had cuts to both ears and upper lip that required stitches as well as five more cuts on his head. He also had blood in the left knee doctors thought was a gunshot and severe rope burn to his wrists and ankles.
A plastic surgeon and eye specialist worked with Greiner”s eyes, one of which is “severely and permanently disfigured,” Fidjeland said.
Schmidt told Fidjeland that Greiner”s head injuries could cause delayed brain injury syndrome, which could cause permanent brain damage.
“He said, ?Mr. Greiner would have died from these injuries,”” Fidjeland said of Schmidt”s report.
Detective John Drewrey of the LCSO testified he spoke with Greiner at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital a few times. Greiner told Drewrey Oct. 21 that a man by the nickname KTron or KTom of Santa Rosa with the Misfits Motorcycle gang beat and shot him. Greiner could not identify the man in photos.
“He wasn”t able to see,” Drewrey said of Greiner. “One eye was completely swollen shut and the other could barely open.”
With the help of reading glasses Greiner”s mother brought him, the Lakeport man pulled aside one of six 8-by-11 photos Oct. 27, Drewrey said. Greiner identified the photo as the man he called KTron or KTom who allegedly attacked him. Drewrey pointed out Dudney as the man in the photo.
During the Oct. 27 discussion, Greiner said he had grown 10 marijuana plants on his property, one processed and nine plants drying in his house, Drewrey testified. Greiner described four of the nine drying plants as “monsters.”
Drewrey testified Greiner said he met Dudney through Deborah James, who he dated in the ”90s and has been friends with since.
Deputy Carla Hockett of the LCSO testified she arrived at the scene Oct. 20 at 2240 S. Main St. in Lakeport where officer Jim Bell of Lakeport police was helping Greiner.
“There was a man lying hogtied and completely bloody,” Hockett said. “Officer Bell was trying to untie him.”
Hockett said Greiner was asking to be untied, said he was in pain and that KTom from Santa Rosa was the assailant.
Hockett said Greiner had a swollen and bloody face with cuts that made “chunks” of skin stick out, along with two gunshot wounds.
Greiner had his wrists and ankles tied with bailing wire behind his back with a rod running down his back between his hands and feet, Hockett said. Officers used a wire cutter to unbind him.
“While we were cutting him loose he stated that they kicked his door in and had taken his marijuana,” Hockett said.
Greiner was lying about 10 to 15 feet from his door, Hockett testified.
Hockett found marijuana on the floor of the bedroom and living room inside Greiner”s house, she said.
“It was kinda strewn about on the floor,” Hockett said.
The door looked like it had been kicked in and the glass next to it was broken, Hockett said.
Defense attorney Doug Rhoades said he thinks it”s “troubling” the prosecution presented a “low” amount of evidence.
“I haven”t heard anything that connects, physically, Dudney to the incident with the exception that KTom did this to him and the photo of KTron,” Rhoades said.
Investigators continue to look for and examine physical evidence that may link Dudney to the charges, Hopkins said.
The court did not take up the bail hearing Tuesday. Dudney remains in custody at the Lake County Jail.
Judge Arthur Mann ruled prosecution showed sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to court.
Dudney will appear in court 8:15 a.m. Nov. 16 for arraignment.
Contact Katy Sweeny at ksweeny@record-bee.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
