Erik D. Jones’s Blog

DA to drop manslaughter charges against Bismark Dinius in sailboat case

by Erik on Jul.20, 2009, under Personal, sailing

Bismark Dinius may be in grave debt and jobless as a result of his two-year ongoing legal battle with the Lake County District Attorney, but he has something small to celebrate.  District Attorney Jon Hopkins announced last Friday night in an open letter posted to his Website that he intends to drop the manslaughter charges against Mr. Dinius at the next court appearance currently scheduled for Tuesday July 21st.  Dinius still faces felony boating under the influence charges which still carries a maximum penalty of up to 3 years in prison.  In addition, Hopkins has not ruled out the possibility of charging Dinius with criminal negligence.

According to Channel 7′s I-Team blog, Hopkins’  posted the letter on the Lake County Website after he attached the same letter to an email sent to Michael Hennesey, a major businessman with connections to several County wineries and businesses.  Hopkins also sent copies of the email to all the local wineries and newspapers .  Hennesey has been threatening to boycott not only Lake County wine, but anything made there.

Russell Purdock, the Lake County sheriff who’s boat rammed into the starboard side of the barely moving sailboat killing Lynn Thornton, has still not been charged with any crime.

My Opinion:

Seems as if the Lake County DA continues to have his priorities in the wrong order.   The Hennesey email, the chronology of events and the method by which the DA made the announcement are all circumstantial, but it certainly gives the appearance of impropriety.

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