Court Denies Bail for Gionis Pending Appeal
A state appellate court on Thursday refused to free jailed surgeon Thomas Gionis while it decides whether to reverse his conviction for hiring two men to assault his estranged wife, the daughter of late actor John Wayne.
Gionis’ attorney asked the court to restore the Irvine physician’s $2-million bail, which had kept Gionis out of jail while the panel considers an appeal of the 1992 conviction.
A Superior Court judge revoked Gionis’ bail Monday. Gionis was booked into Orange County Jail after state attorneys argued that Gionis might flee because he lost a crucial appeal last week before the California Supreme Court.
The 4th District Court of Appeal still must decide several remaining issues, a process expected to take months. By then Gionis could be sent to state prison to resume a five-year sentence for arranging the 1988 attack on Aissa Wayne and her friend Roger Luby at Luby’s Newport Beach estate.
Wayne was tied up and thrown face-first onto a garage floor, causing head injuries. The two attackers pistol-whipped Luby and severed his Achilles’ tendon with a knife.
The appellate court reversed the conviction, but the Supreme Court last week rejected the lower court’s findings of improper testimony by an attorney and prosecutorial misconduct.
Attempts to reach Gionis’ attorney, William J. Kopeny, were unsuccessful.
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