My name is John Thornton and I am the son of Lynn Thornton who was killed the night of April 29, 2006.

My mother was killed by the negligence of Russell Perdock, a Lake County Sheriff's captain, who worked for and with Sheriff Rodney Mitchell.

I am writing this letter to express my sincere love for my mother, Lynn, and to give my full support in favor of Francisco Rivero for sheriff and why you should vote Sheriff Rodney Mitchell out of office!

My mother Lynn was everything to me. Not only was she my best friend who was always there for me, but she also taught me many morals and principles. One of those morals was to tell the truth, which is something that I could only wish Russell Perdock and Rodney Mitchell would follow and live by.

Since that night of April 29, 2006, Sheriff Rodney Mitchell has protected Perdock from facing any charges in spite of his reckless actions that led to my mother’s death. Instead, Mitchell shifted the attention to an innocent man, Bismarck Dinius.

Bismarck was wrongly charged and later rightfully acquitted, but not until after almost three years after the incident. Mitchell deliberately dragged out the case and charges to obviously satisfy the statute of limitations, therefore protecting Russell Perdock, the man who was at fault all along.

Sheriff Rodney Mitchell hasn’t demonstrated by any means that he deserves the leadership or title of Sheriff through his acts of injustice by not prosecuting the responsible person for my mother’s death, Russell Perdock.

My mother’s love and kindness can never be replaced and I know nothing I do or say can ever bring her back to me, and what makes it even more difficult to deal with is that Russell Perdock and Rodney Mitchell never did the right thing from the beginning. They put more effort into a coverup and ignoring the facts, which is why the Dinius case generated so much attention.

I ask the people of Lake County for their vote and support of Frank Rivero because he is a man who has morals, ethics and understands justice. Frank has the right mind and character to lead, serve and protect the people of Lake County, and most important to me, to get justice for my mom.

John Thornton lives in Carmichael, Calif.