Yacht skipper found innocent of death of crew member

8:29 AM Fri 21 Aug 2009 GMT

'Dinius found innocent' .

A crew member acting as skipper of an almost stationary sailing boat when a powerboat crashed into it at night at between 40 and 55 mph has been found innocent.

One of the crew in the incident was killed as the powerboat rode up over the cabintop of the yacht in Lakeport, California.

The driver of the power boat, a top Sheriff's official, had not been charged with anything, but is now the subject of an internal investigation for misconduct.

Bismarck Dinius had been accused of being drunk and not having the yacht's lights on, but the jury seemed to believe the defense, which was that the lights were on but probably were difficult to see against shore lights.

It took the jury seven hours, over two days, to reach a verdict. Dinius kept his emotions in check while the court clerk read the jury's verdict.

'We the jury in the above entitled cause find the defendant, Bismarck Flores Dinius, not guilty of count one,' read the the court clerk.

The emotion came for Dinius and his wife after the jury also cleared him of misdemeanor boating under the influence.

The jury hung on a third count of boating with a blood alcohol content greater than .08, and the court dismissed the charge.

It has been a long ordeal for the entire Dinius defense team. 'Just happy for Bismarck, that it was the right result reached by the jurors in this case, ' said defense attorney Victor Haltom. 'They did the right thing.'

Several jurors had tears in their eyes as they left the courtroom.

Dinius was fired from his job at Verizon Wireless after working there for 10 years. The company wouldn't let him take a leave of absence to attend the trial. He will now look for a new job as he works to rebuild his life with his wife and step-daughter.

Sometimes justice does not come easily....

by BW Media Roundup

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Yacht skipper found innocent of death of crew member

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