Lake County Residents Think Perdock is Guilty

With Bismarck Dinius slated to go on trial next week on vehicular manslaughter charges in the Lake County boating death of Lynn Thornton, the Lake County Record-Bee has published the stunning results of a poll about who their readers thought was actually responsible. The results couldn’t have been worse — or more humiliating — for both the Lake County Sheriff’s Department and the Lake County District Attorney.

Most of you will remember that Thornton was killed a little over two years ago on a dark night on Clear Lake when off-duty Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Russell Perdock slammed his high-power speedboat into the O’Day 28 sailboat that Thornton was a guest on. Defying common sense and an intense public outcry, and giving a distinct impression of trying to maneuver to protect one of their own, the Lake County D.A. filed no charges against Perdock, but charged Dinius, who happened to be at the helm of the all but stationary sailboat, with manslaughter.

If you read Latitude, you know sailors have been outraged at the actions of the D.A. Well, you’re now going to learn that Lake County residents feel the same way. According to the poll, an overwhelming 70% of the 693 respondents think "Yes, it was all Perdock’s fault." Wow! Another 10% agreed that "His actions contributed."

Only 1% felt "His actions didn’t harm." Mind you, this is even less than the percentage of numbskulls who idiotically checked, "He’s a cop . . . he can’t be guilty."

But get this. Just five out of the 693 respondents — or .7% — agree with the D.A. that, "No, it was all Dinius’ fault." So the prosecution is going to have to go to court and attempt to convince 12 out of 12 people, beyond a reasonable doubt, that 99.3% of their neighbors have it all wrong.

Not only do we think the wrong man has been charged and his life been thrown into shambles, and not only do we think the guilty man is still on duty as a Lake County Sheriff, but there’s been a massive waste of taxpayer-funded manpower and resources. We’re looking for justice.