Protesters say wrong man charged in boating accident

LAKEPORT - Supporters rallied Friday around a sailboat enthusiast accused of manslaughter for his role in a fatal 2006 boating accident on Clear Lake, saying that prosecutors charged the wrong man.

In a case that has drawn national attention in the sailing community, two-dozen people gathered outside the Lake County Courthouse to urge prosecutors to drop charges against Bismarck Dinius, a competitive sailor from Carmichael.

Dinius should not be held responsible for the accident that claimed the life of a Willows woman aboard the sailboat he helmed, supporters say.

Instead, they blame Lake County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Russell Perdock, who was driving a speedboat that slammed into the sailboat on a dark April night, killing Lynn Thornton and injuring seven others.

The protesters say Perdock — not Dinius — should be charged with vehicular manslaughter in connection with Thornton’s death on the night of April 29, 2006. Perdock was driving his Baja Outlaw too fast on that dark, nearly moonless night, they say.

“He should be charged,” said Sue Wood, a Grass Valley woman who came to support Dinius.

Lake County District Attorney Jon Hopkins declined to comment Friday.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to comment on tactics designed to influence a jury panel, especially on the eve of trial,” he said.

Dinius was charged with vehicular manslaughter because he was at the sailboat’s helm and was intoxicated, prosecutors have said. His blood alcohol level was measured that night at 0.12, twice the legal limit, according to the vessel accident report prepared by the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department.

Thornton’s fiance, sailboat owner Mark Weber, had a blood alcohol level of 0.18, according to the accident report. Seven empty beer cans, a bottle of white wine containing liquid, a vodka bottle with liquid, a tequila bottle and a broken red wine bottle were found in the cabin and cockpit, according to the accident report.

Prosecutors also claim that Dinius failed to ensure someone was acting as a lookout and that the boat’s running lights were illuminated on that nearly moonless night.

Weber claims the sailboat’s lights were on.

“We were out there with the lights on and Perdock ran us over,” he said Friday following a pretrial hearing at the Lake County courthouse. The hearing was postponed until June 30.

During a preliminary hearing last year, experts for the defense and prosecution presented conflicting conclusions about whether the sailboat’s running lights were on.

Dinius supporters said Perdock should have been driving the boat slower, given the lack of visibility that night.

Perdock’s boat was “going like a bat out of hell,” said Judy McCann, a retired teacher and avid sailor who was at a lakeside social club with her husband and friends when the fatal crash occurred.

Testimony at the preliminary hearing indicated Perdock’s boat was traveling between 40 mph to 45 mph. The force of the impact launched the 24-foot speedboat up and over the 27-foot sailboat, severing its mast.

The initial investigative report concluded that the collision may have been avoided had Perdock reduced his speed.

Family and friends of Lynn Thornton also attended Friday’s court hearing and protest.

“I’m here to support Mr. Dinius,” said Thornton’s brother, Roger Thomsen, of Cameron Park.

He said he’s disappointed Perdock wasn’t issued so much as a speeding ticket.

While Perdock has not been charged criminally for Thornton’s death, he was named as a defendant in a civil case filed over the death. The case was settled last year.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Perdock was ordered to pay Lynn Thornton’s estate $299,999. Dinius also was ordered to pay the estate $299,999 while Weber was ordered to pay $99,999. A passenger on Perdock’s boat, James Walker, was ordered to pay $61,000.

The criminal case returns to court June 30, when a visiting judge is expected to rule on motions brought by Dinius’ attorney, Victor Haltom, of Sacramento.

They include a request — the second of its kind — to have the state Attorney General take over the case, alleging a conflict of interest.

If the motions are denied, the trial — most recently scheduled for June 30 — is expected to be reset as soon as is reasonably possible.