Surgeon Arrested in Assault on Wayne Daughter

Newport Beach police late Tuesday night arrested Pomona surgeon Thomas A. Gionis on suspicion of conspiracy in the brutal attack last October on his ex-wife, Aissa Wayne, and her financier boyfriend.

Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Van Horn confirmed that Gionis, 35, had been arrested on a warrant in connection with the attack on the daughter of the late John Wayne. He said Gionis was being held without bail on suspicion of conspiracy to commit assault with a deadly weapon.

Gionis, an orthopedic surgeon who had been involved in a bitter custody battle with Wayne over their now 2-year-old daughter at the time of the Oct. 3 attack, was the third suspect to be arrested in the case.

In March, police arrested two employees of a Los Angeles private investigation firm that was retained by Gionis in the custody dispute. An arrest warrant also has been issued for the Los Angeles firm’s owner, O. Daniel Gal, who authorities said fled to Europe.

The arrests follow an intensive investigation into the attack on Wayne, 32, and her then boyfriend, Roger W. Luby, 52.