Opening arguments start in torture retrial

A new witness is expected to testify during the retrial of a Linda man accused of torturing, raping and beating his girlfriend during a three-day methamphetamine "bender" in April, a Yuba County prosecutor said Thursday.

"You're going to hear all about (the victim's) hell week," Deputy District Attorney Shiloh Sorbello said in an opening statement.

Tyrone Lawrence Dyson, 39, has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of torture, rape and forcible oral copulation. He faces about 40 years to life in prison if convicted.

Defense attorney Brian Davis told the jury of seven women and five men the incident was nothing more than a case of "he said, she said."

"Most of the evidence is not going to be disputed and it will come down to who you believe," Davis said.

A jury convicted Dyson of threatening to kill the woman, but deadlocked on the more severe charges of rape, assault and torture. He faces up to 11 years in prison based on that conviction.

Judge Julia L. Scrogin is presiding over the trial. She was also the trial judge during Dyson's previous case in July.

The victim, a 33-year-old Linda woman, took the stand Thursday.

Prosecutors believe Dyson assaulted the woman with a sex toy, a knife, a BB-gun and a broomstick. They say the abuse includes punching, kicking and slapping the woman's head, face, and torso.

Sorbello told jurors that Dyson was punishing the woman for perceived, but unproven cheating.

Another of Dyson's former girlfriends is expected to testify next week. Prosecutors did not know about the woman during Dyson's first trial.

Dyson also abused the woman in similar ways during their relationship in 2008 in Sacramento, Sorbello said.

Dyson, who goes by the nickname "M.G.," claimed in July that he tried to end the relatio ship with his girlfriend in Linda, and she invented "trumped up" charges in retaliation.

She "is an actress," Dyson testified in July. "I care about her, but she's mentally ill."

Dyson said he is the real victim, blaming a far-flung conspiracy of "the powers that be," which he said included his ex-girlfriend, law enforcement and other residents living in the Hile Avenue apartment complex.

Dyson admitted secretly recording his ex-girlfriend when she was alone. He said he records all his girlfriends to ensure they don't cheat on him.

He acknowledged a "double standard" during the relationship, saying he slept with several women while being angry about his ex-girlfriend's perceived infidelities.

The woman was free to leave any time, he said, and had several opportunities to walk away. Dyson even had sex with a woman in a parked car outside the apartment complex while the victim was alone at home, he testified.

Testimony resumes today.

CONTACT Rob Parsons at rparsons@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4785. Find him on Facebook at /ADcrimebeat or on Twitter at @ADcrimebeat.