Comments for Sailboat accident defendant in court at http://lakeconews.com , comment 1 to 7 out of 7 comments http://lakeconews.com Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:00:30 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://lakeconews.com/content/view/964/919/#comment-1375 Sailboats do have the right of way, safe speed laws do come into play, and while in court a few other things will come into play, such as Perdock wasn\'t tested for his blood alcohol level until almost 24 hrs later... LC sheriff\'s department tried to say that it happend around 11:30 the night of the accident and the date was just mirswrote, yet whitnesses say perdock was at the scene until past midnight. Another thing that will come into play... officers refused to take some whitness statements... Statements that say things like oh, i don\'t know, \"the sail boat lights WERE in fact on\" Right now, the defendant and other parties are suing to get this removed and placed into an unbiased jurisdiction. This makes them look sue happy, but hopefully they can get it moved. From what I understand the family of the lady who died is outraged by the fact that Dinius is being charged, and they do not blame him at all. It is very unfortunate that he is being charged with something that there is no way he could have prevented. It\'s obvious that the incident was Perdock\'s fault; the people on the sail boat agree, and the family of Lynn Thorton agree. The only people disagreeing are the DA and Mr. Perdock... hmmm... seem odd that they are the only ones??? anyone with half a brain could read the facts and figure out who is liable... this is just an example of the cops looking out for their own. ABC 7 has a great write and investigative video clip on this story as well. - Caligirlstuckintx Fri, 05 Oct 2007 09:04:36 +0100 http://lakeconews.com/content/view/964/919/#comment-988 Recent articles on this incident indicate the District Attorney is under fire. The facts will prevail and justice will be served. - Tony Mon, 27 Aug 2007 14:25:59 +0100 http://lakeconews.com/content/view/964/919/#comment-466 It\'s mighty hard to keep your faith in local law enforcement when they don\'t know what the law is. Excuse my ignorance but being the District Attorney means you are this countys\' top law enforcement officer, doesn\'t that imply you know what the laws are? May I suggest more time in the law library and less time on the guitar? - Donna Christopher Tue, 12 Jun 2007 08:00:48 +0100 http://lakeconews.com/content/view/964/919/#comment-464 Hopkins and Mitchell are both trying to rig this deal, because saving the behind of one of their own is more important than being fair and honest. Number 1 is right about background lights making it hard for you to see running lights, I\'ve done a lot of night flying and had the same problem over populated areas trying to spot other aircraft, it\'s VERY difficult at times. And how is it that Hopkins can\'t figure out what the state law on boat speed limits is? Jon is a smart guy, this is more proof this is a miscarraige of justice. - smurf Tue, 12 Jun 2007 06:48:57 +0100 http://lakeconews.com/content/view/964/919/#comment-462 Pardon me but speed is relevant in this case (without knowing all the facts)because regardless of specific speed limits, the law states that boats (and cars) must be operated in a safe manner for prevailing conditions. I am very knowledgable of boating at night and with background lighting (as along the shoreline of Konocti Bay) a boat is very difficult to see, with or without running lights, as the boat\'s lights blend into the background lights. Running at high rates of speed (e.g. 40 mph is very fast) is unsafe in such areas. The speed of the powerboat could very well be a contributing factor to this accident. DA Hopkins is being negligent in ignoring the speed of the powerboat. - number1 Mon, 11 Jun 2007 18:17:14 +0100 http://lakeconews.com/content/view/964/919/#comment-454 tell me how it can\'t be negligance on the power boat operator\'s part when he doesn\'t see a 27 foot long sailboat under FULL sail and he broadsides it? If it\'s dark then you shouldn\'t be going so fast or paying so little attention that you can\'t avoid this kind of accident-period. Nice of them to rig the investigation too, by having Mitchell\'s Sacramento do it. And Hopkins claiming that the speed (estimated by some at 40 mph) didn\'t matter was classic, just business as usual here in the land of law and disorder (the same thing now),Lake County CA. - smurf Sat, 09 Jun 2007 19:23:41 +0100 http://lakeconews.com/content/view/964/919/#comment-452 Was the sailboat under sail power? If it was I thought sailboats had the right of way. Was the sailboat sailing a steady course? 9pm is still dusk. Running lights? does the alcohol level releive the speedboat of all responsibilty? Is there more here than meets the eye? - rudy Sat, 09 Jun 2007 12:55:55 +0100