Gary Thomas, prosecutor paralyzed in 1970 courthouse shootout, dies By the time the San Rafael man died this month of natural causes at 79, he was known to his family and friends as “The Judge” who for decades dispensed tough but fair rulings from the Marin County Superior Court bench, as well as an avid fisherman with a photographic memory for everything from legal precedents to passages from science fiction novels. [...] back on the morning Aug.