Katy Sweeny — Staff reporter
LAKEPORT — A Sonoma County man accused of torture and premeditated attempted murder appeared in court Friday with two new co-defendants on charges of intimidating a witness and participating in the criminal street gang, the Misfits.
Thomas Loyd Dudney, 59, of Fulton, now has two Lake County cases against him and pleaded not guilty to a total of 12 charges with the possibility of four life sentences.
Dudney, Joseph Henri Deshetres and Cheryl Ann Reese allegedly conspired in November to intimidate a witness in Dudney”s attempted murder case.
“The conversation involved telling a person close to a witness to get rid of that witness,” District Attorney Jon Hopkins said.
Dudney, Deshetres, 62, of Santa Rosa and Reese, 56, of Lakeport are charged with intimidating a witness and participating in the criminal street gang, the Misfits. Special allegations that the crimes were committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang accompany the first charge.
Dudney, Joshua Wandrey and Deborah James allegedly shot, tortured and hogtied Ronald Greiner Oct. 20 at the Lakeport man”s home on South Main Street behind the Record-Bee building.
Dudney and Wandrey are charged with premeditated attempted murder, aggravated mayhem, torture, simple mayhem, home invasion robbery in concert with another, first-degree burglary, assault with a firearm, assault with a blunt force object, assault likely to produce great bodily injury and serious battery.
Three of the 10 charges carry life sentences. Special allegations that great bodily injury was inflicted and use of a firearm accompany the charges.
James is charged with premeditated attempted murder, home invasion robbery in concert with another and first-degree burglary. Special allegations that a principal was armed with a firearm in commission of the offense accompany the charges. James was released on $100,000 bail Nov. 13.
Wandrey and James are also charged with participating in the criminal street gang, the Misfits. Special allegations that the crimes were committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang accompany the charge.
James and Wandrey will return to court 9 a.m. Feb. 5 for their pre-preliminary hearing and 9 a.m. Feb. 19 for their preliminary hearing.
Wandrey remains in custody without bail at the Lake County Jail.
Hopkins requested no bail for Deshetres, Dudney and Reese because he said the defendants pose a risk to the witness. Dudney remains in custody without bail for the attempted murder case.
Defense attorney Shawn Collins specially appeared for Deshetres and Reese. He said Deshetres should be allowed bail because he has no violence on his record. Collins argued that Reese should be allowed bail because she has been clean and sober since 1986.
Rod Buntjer, Reese”s employer at a bail bond agency, testified that he”s known Reese for about 30 years and that he didn”t know particulars in Reese”s phone conversations with Dudney. Buntjer also testified he had bailed out Deshetres in the past and he didn”t know Dudney had contacted Deshetres. Judge Richard Martin ruled no bail for the three defendants, who returned to the Lake County Jail. Deshetres, Dudney and Reese will return to court 9 a.m. Friday.
The Lake County Sheriff”s Office expects to make more arrests in the cases.
Contact Katy Sweeny at ksweeny@record-bee.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
