threat against Ronald Greiner
LAKEPORT — A Lake County Sheriff”s Office detective testified Friday a friend of two of the defendants in an attempted murder case made a threat to the victim a few days before he was shot, tortured and hogtied.
Judge Arthur Mann heard one day”s worth of testimony in the preliminary hearing against Thomas Loyd Dudney, Joshua Isaac Wandrey and Deborah Ann James for the alleged attempted murder of Ronald Greiner Oct. 20 at the Lakeport man”s home on South Main Street behind the Record-Bee building.
Detective John Drewrey of LCSO said James told him she went to Greiner”s house a few days before Oct. 20 with three other people. There, one of James” friends got in a physical altercation with Greiner about marijuana plants he owed them and said to him something like, “I would send some big boys over.”
Dudney, 59, of Fulton and Wandrey, 35, of Rohnert Park are charged with premeditated attempted murder, aggravated mayhem, torture, 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, serious battery, simple mayhem and participating in the criminal street gang, the Misfits.
Three of the 11 charges carry life sentences. Special allegations that the crimes were committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang, that great bodily injury was inflicted and use of a firearm accompany the charges.
James, 47, of Windsor is charged with premeditated attempted murder, home invasion robbery in concert with another, first-degree burglary and participating in the criminal street gang, the Misfits. Special allegations that the crimes were committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang and a principal was armed with a firearm in commission of the offense accompany the charges. James was released on $100,000 bail Nov. 3.
Dudney and two other codefendants, Joseph Henri Deshetres, 62, of Santa Rosa and Cheryl Ann Reese, 56, of Lakeport allegedly conspired in November to intimidate a witness in the attempted murder case against Dudney.
Deshetres, Dudney and Reese 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. The charges with special allegations carry a life sentence.
Judge Arthur Mann continued the preliminary hearing against Deshetres, Dudney and Reese to 1:30 p.m. March 12 in Department 3. They remain in custody at the Lake County Jail with a no-bail hold.
Drewrey said he interviewed Greiner in the hospital a few times.
“He told me on the night of the 19th, early morning 20th, he had gone to bed about midnight and was awakened by the front door being forced open. Two suspects whom he recognized both pointed guns at him. He was shot. He tried to run out the back. He believes he was shot again. And he was taken to the ground by one individual who tried to tie him up and told him to stay still. He said he was taken down by KTom.”
Drewrey said Dudney”s nickname is KTom or KTron.
During Drewrey”s first two visits with Greiner, the Lakeport man couldn”t see well enough to look at a lineup, but identified Dudney”s photo as the man who broke into his house on Drewrey”s third visit.
Drewrey said in his interview with James she didn”t answer his question on the last time she talked to Dudney.
“Then I asked her if she was scared of Mr. Dudney and she said, “I haven”t heard anything good about him.”
Deputy Carla Hockett of the Lake County Sheriff”s Department testified she was the second officer on scene Oct. 20 at Greiner”s house where Greiner told her KTom or KTron was the person who shot and hurt him.
“He said they came through to take his marijuana,” Hockett said.
Hockett said when she went inside to secure the house, she saw leftover marijuana on the floor. She also noticed the living room window was broken.
When Hockett arrived at Greiner”s house, she said she found officer Jim Bell of Lakeport police trying to untie Greiner. Greiner was bound with bailing wire and rope, his hands and ankles tied behind his back.
“When I walked up, he had blood all over, he was all muddy and his eyes looked like they were swollen shut,” Hockett said.
Greiner had gunshot wounds and Hockett said at first she couldn”t understand him.
“His speech was slurred,” Hockett said. “I think he was in too much pain.”
Hockett said based on the gunshot wounds she would guess the gun used could have been a .22-caliber.
Detective Nicole Costanza of the Lake County Sheriff”s Office testified that Dudney”s alias is KTom or KTron.
Costanza said the investigation focused on Wandrey because Greiner told Drewrey Dudney had a prospect with him and Wandrey was Dudney”s prospect.
On Nov. 3, Costanza searched the shed behind Wandrey”s mother”s house, where he was apparently living, she said. There she found Wandrey”s California identification card, about 10 pounds of marijuana, a jacket with a dark stain on it and white latex gloves. About 15 feet outside of the shed, Costanza found a backpack with bolt cutters, a few pairs of white latex gloves, a red razor knife and a flashlight.
When Costanza arrived at Greiner”s house about eight hours after he was found, she searched for evidence outside, she said. Costanza didn”t find any shell casings or bullets. She noticed what looked like blood spatter on a few white trash bags near where officers found Greiner.
Deputy David Fidjeland of the Sheriff”s Department testified he gave Dudney”s cell phone to Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force for detective Marte Strang to analyze.
Dudney”s cell phone had a contact listed at Josh futr 1-mffm, who sent him a text about 2:36 a.m. Oct. 20 that read “GotCASH4 WNDOWGotmor monee ?ait nil b back cal me ContractKiller.” Dudney”s phone had an outgoing text message to Josh futr 1-mffm about 2:39 a.m. Oct. 20 that said “On my way to u now.”
Fidjeland spoke with Dr. Brian Shmidt, the chief of surgery at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, who treated Greiner Oct. 20 when he was flown to that hospital, the deputy said.
“His first reaction was he thought Mr. Greiner was going to decompensate very quickly and expire,” Fidjeland said.
Greiner had a point-blank gunshot wound to the chest that injected about 50 pellets into him and a gunshot wound to the abdomen that didn”t penetrate his skin, Fidjeland testified. Greiner also had a collapsed lung, broken cheekbones, nose, jaw, ribs and broken bones around his eyes and breaks in his skull. He also had many cuts to his face, head, ears and wounds to his legs.
Fidjeland said the bailing wire around Greiner”s hands and feet was so tight Shmidt was worried Greiner would lose his hands.
“It was his concern that if Mr. Greiner had not been found he would have died from the injuries,” Fidjeland testified Shmidt said.
Contact Katy Sweeny at kdsweeny@gmail.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
