Los Angeles pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others died in a drunken driving accident. The man charged with the deaths of these three people has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder. Many relatives of the victims as well as one of the survivor’s looked on during his plea.
The offender, Andrew Thomas Gallo, a 23-year-old, also pleaded not guilty through his attorney to three other felony charges and one misdemeanor in the April 9 collision that occurred just hours after Adenhart pitched six scoreless innings in his season debut.
The sole survivor of the crash, a 24-year-old, Jon Wilhite, but sustained major injuries, began sobbing as the attorney submitted the not-guilty pleas to the court. Gallo’s attorney wishes to seek a change of venue because he believes his client cannot get a fair trial in Orange County, which is the home of the Angels and California State University and Fullerton. Gallo’s attorney has said there have been death threats against Gallo and himself via the Internet, phone and in a letter.
“I think people are venting and its just evidence of the passion people have in this case. I don’t think it’s a true threat,” he said, noting he had not brought it to the district attorney’s attention.
The Deputy District Attorney disputed the need for moving the case and said the attorney had not told her about the threats.
“We don’t believe that the defendant will be any more prejudiced in this county than in any other county, said Price, who was flanked by the victims’ family members at a brief news conference outside the courtroom.
Update on this story since we first posted it. Andrew Thomas Gallo received 51 years to life in prison. For more on this story, click here.
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