I am writing this letter to address the death of Lynn Thornton occurring on Clear Lake on April 29, 2006. As many of you know, the sailboat she was a passenger on was hit from behind by a speedboat operated by Deputy Russell Perdock who was traveling at a very high rate of speed between 45-50 mph on a dark night. The sailboat was slowly moving toward shore at the time of the impact.
Sheriff Rod Mitchell and DA Jon Hopkins made the decision to charge the wrong man for the accident caused by Perdock, which resulted in Lynn”s death.
In my opinion, they did everything they could to protect Perdock and go after Bismarck Dinius. Despite repeated, numerous statements and letters to the court by Lynn”s family, friends and me stating that the wrong man was being charged, Mitchell and Hopkins still moved forward with charging Dinius. Their whole case was based upon their belief that the sailboat did not have its running lights on.
In the Sept. 29 Sheriff”s Debate hosted by the Lake County Bar Association, Mitchell made a statement that alluded to people making mistakes. He should know because he made an egregious mistake with the Dinius case by not seeing that the responsible person was charged, Perdock. Hopkins made the same mistake and I believe that strongly contributed to him being voted out of office. In one of the interviews conducted by Dan Noyes, Hopkins was asked about the fact that there were several witnesses who saw running lights on the sailboat before Perdock crashed into it. Hopkins adamantly stated, “No, no there were not!”
The jury didn”t ignore that fact and they got it right. They unanimously acquitted Dinius because they knew the wrong man was being charged. Perdock should have been charged so that Lynn”s family and friends could have received justice. What makes it even worse is that Lynn was also a peace officer and it was, and continues to be an insult to her family and friends that there was no justice for her whatsoever.
It is for this reason that I fully support Frank Rivero for Sheriff. I learned about Rivero from people who live in Lake County and because of what I heard about him, I contacted him toward the end of the Dinius trial. Frank has the character, morals and ethics to be sheriff of Lake County. Lynn”s family is in support of him because he had the courage to stand up and tell the truth about the case, when his job was in jeopardy for doing so. He knew the case was being handled wrong, and he spoke up. He is a man who will do the right thing for the county, not play into the good old boys club that is in control right now. I believe that he will succeed as your sheriff where Mitchell has failed.
The good people of Lake County have the opportunity to make a change for the better. It started with voting Hopkins out of office and now you have the opportunity to end Mitchell”s job and vote in a man who will work very hard for you, your families and all of Lake County.
Carol Stambuk
Rocklin
