Susan Valot
April 13, 2009
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A Superior Court judge in Fullerton this afternoon agreed to postpone the arraignment of Andrew Gallo. He's the 22-year-old man accused of the drunken driving wreck that killed Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two of his friends. KPCC's Susan Valot was in the courtroom.
Susan Valot: Andrew Gallo wore a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He stood behind bars for the proceeding. He kept his head down and sometimes covered his face with his hand, apparently crying at times.
Gallo faces three counts of murder and several other charges related to the deadly crash earlier this month in Fullerton. Afterward, Gallo's attorney, Randall T. Longwith, spoke outside the courthouse.
Randall T. Longwith: We'd like to express our condolences for all the victims of this terrible accident. And that's what it was – It was a terrible accident.
Valot: Longwith says Gallo is "as distraught as can be."
Longwith: I think his tears spoke volumes. So, he's distraught.
Valot: But Carrie Stewart-Dixon, the mother of crash victim Courtney Stewart, says she doesn't buy Gallo's tears. She says she doesn't "feel sorry for him in the least."
Carrie Stewart-Dixon: He knew what he was doing. He has a big history of drinking, driving, evading, not finishing his court-appointed rehabilitation. He's escaped the law too many times and I think everybody's had enough of him escaping the law.
Valot: Stewart-Dixon stood outside the courthouse, surrounded by family and friends, all wearing white t-shirts with a picture of a smiling, blond-haired Courtney on the front. Stewart-Dixon says this case has received a lot of media attention because the crash killed up-and-coming Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart.
Stewart-Dixon: We feel horrible for his family's loss, but we want the news media to know that the word "two others" is not what the families like to hear because Courtney was not just another person and Henry wasn't just another person.
Valot: "Henry" is Henry Pearson, a 25-year-old law student from Manhattan Beach, who was also killed in the crash. Courtney's mom, Carrie Stewart-Dixon, says she stood up in court when Andrew Gallo walked in, so he could see the mother of the young woman he killed.
Stewart-Dixon: It sickens me, sickens me that he was on the road. There was no reason for him to be on the road. And I don't know what we can do to change it. But that's something I'm definitely going to be working on.
Valot: But first comes the arraignment – and possibly the trial of suspected drunk driver Andrew Gallo. He's due to answer the murder charges and other related charges in early June in Fullerton. Gallo's being held on $2 million bail.
