My name is John Thornton and I am the son of Lynn Thornton who was killed the night of April 29, 2006. My mother was killed due to the negligence of Russell Perdock, a former Lake County Sheriff”s captain. The same Lake County Sheriff”s captain who worked for and with Sheriff Rodney Mitchell.
I am writing this letter today to express my sincere love for my mother, Lynn, and to give my full support in favor of Francisco Rivero for sheriff and to express why residents should vote Sheriff Rodney Mitchell out of office!
My mother was everything to me. Not only was she my best friend who was always there for me, but she also taught me many morals and principles. One of those morals was to tell the truth, which is something that I could only wish Russell Perdock and Rodney Mitchell would follow and live by. Since that night of April 29, 2006, Sheriff Rodney Mitchell has protected his former employee, Russell Perdock, from facing any charges, in spite of his reckless actions that led to my mother”s death. Instead, Mitchell shifted the attention to an innocent man, Bismarck Dinius. Dinius was wrongly charged and later rightfully acquitted, but not until after almost three years after the incident. I believe Mitchell deliberately dragged out the case and charges to obviously satisfy the statute of limitations, therefore protecting Russell Perdock, the man who was at fault all along.
Sheriff Rodney Mitchell hasn”t demonstrated, by any means, that he deserves the leadership or title of sheriff through his acts of injustice by not prosecuting the responsible person for my mother”s death, Russell Perdock.
My mother”s love and kindness can never be replaced and I know nothing I do or say can ever bring her back to me, and what makes it even more difficult to deal with is that Russell Perdock and Rodney Mitchell never did the right thing from the beginning. They put more effort into a cover-up and ignoring the facts, which is why the Dinius case generated so much attention.
I ask the people of Lake County to cast their vote and support to Frank Rivero because he is a man who has morals, ethics and understands justice. Rivero has the right mind and character to lead, serve and protect the people of Lake County, and most important to me, to get justice for my mom.
John Thornton
Carmichael
