Trial Begins for Lagoon Shooter

A trial is underway in San Mateo County Superior Court for a Foster City man who prosecutors say opened fire on a group of revelers in a midnight canoeing party last year.

Jesse David Wilson, 40, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and five counts of assault with a firearm in the July 9, 2010 incident.

A raucous group including two men and three women had allegedly been cavorting loudly while canoeing in the Foster City Lagoon, annoying neighbors. The boat capsized, the group roared with laughter, and that is when prosecutors say Wilson, then 39, emerged from his unit at the Beach Cove Apartments on Catamaran Street brandishing a .22-caliber handgun and ordered the group to be quiet.

The two men allegedly told Wilson, then 39, that they, too, lived in the complex, and that he should go back into his apartment. According to prosecution notes, as Wilson lowered his gun, Steven Dimond charged at him. A bullet tore through Dimond’s upper left back, collapsing his lung.

A second victim, Anthony Cook, charged at Wilson, who shot him in the abdomen. Police say Cook disarmed Wilson and punched him repeatedly in the face.

Police arrived and all three men were rushed to the hospital.

Dimond testified at Wilson’s preliminary hearing that his wounds required a four-month hospitalization.

The jury trial has been set twice before since Wilson’s arraignment on Oct. 6.

The trial is expected to last about three weeks. Wilson has been out of custody on a $500,000 bond.