Driver convicted of murder in crash that killed Angels' Nick Adenhart, 2 others

Andrew Thomas Gallo, 23, was found guilty of murder Monday in connection with the DUI crash that killed Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others.

The April 9, 2009, death of Adenhart just hours after he made his first start of the season for the Angels, pitching six scoreless innings, shocked baseball fans and non-fans alike.

Courtney Stewart, a student and former cheerleader at Cal State Fullerton, and Henry Pearson, a 25-year-old law school student who was building a sports management business, were also killed in the crash.

Gallo had been convicted of driving under the influence three years before the crash and was still on probation when it happened.

When his blood-alcohol level was tested a couple of hours after the crash, it was 0.19%, more than twice the legal limit for driving, officials said.

Gallo was found guilty of three counts of second-degree murder, felony DUI and felony hit-and-run. He faces a sentence of 55 years to life in prison.

Jon Wilhite, 24, of Manhattan Beach survived the crash but sustained major injuries. Gallo's stepbrother, Raymond Rivera, broke his nose and wrist in the collision.

At the time of the crash, Gallo was 22 and a recovering alcoholic who had tried twice before to overcome his addiction, his attorney, Jacquline Goodman, said during the trial.

He always made sure he had a designated driver, and in the hours before the crash it was Rivera, his designated driver, who pushed him to drink, she said.

When the crash happened, Goodman argued, Gallo and Rivera were so intoxicated that it is possible Rivera was actually the driver. She conceded that it was unlikely and said Gallo didn't want her to argue the point.

But in the end, she said, even if Gallo was driving, he is not what people have in mind when they think of a murderer. He is a young man with bad judgment who is now caught in a tragic situation, she said.

"Use your common sense," she said. "Is it murder?"

For prosecutors, the answer was clear, noting his prior conviction for driving under the influence. He had been warned of the dangers of drinking and driving by a court, by friends and by family, they said.

During the trial, Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Susan Price showed video of Gallo and his stepbrother drinking heavily in a West Covina bikini bar before the crash.

-- Paloma Esquivel in Santa Ana

Photo: Nick Adenhart. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Warren]

Gallo is a product of our society. Drink, drink, drink, but, don't smoke Da Kine. I went against the gain and stopped drinking after a year of trying to be like the other kids at school. Marijuana is my choice. Twenty years of consuming cannabis I never had auto accident or cause the death of another human or animal. It is time to end the prohibition of cannabis.

[Kelly Davenport]

Murder???

Murder is something that is devious, intentional and an act of WANTING someone dead. What Gallo did was an accident and for anyone who is over the age of 21 to say that they "don't drink and drive" is a complete hypocrite. It has happened to each and everyone of us. Charging someone with Murder for something that was clearly an accident is wrong and a complete violation of human rights. Manslughter yes, punishment yes but Murder to make an example of someone is disgusting. To use that he has struggles with addiction is plain foul. It doesn't mean he did it on purpose.

My heart goes out to the families who lost loved ones and my heart goes out to Gallo. A 23 year old who made a mistake. He is NOT just another drunk driver off the street, he is 23 years old who too has lost his life.

[Just thinking here but...]

Some of the comments suggest that if a person who engages in risky behavior and that behavior causes harm to another, that person who engaged in risky behavior ought to be punished severly.

Ok, if I were to suggest that driving while texting is just as risky a behavior and just as likely to result in serious harm (or dealth) to another, would you all want to see the cell phone user punished to the same degree?

[Miche]

To Rokrik and John,

One of the things that happened in his earlier convictions is that he attending court-mandated classes wherein he was taught (among other things) that driving while drunk - particularly after having been previously convicted and having taken this class - would be considered 2nd degree murder. Having been taught that, he knew the consequences and still chose to drive while impaired. He had a .19 blood alcohol level - and that was TWO HOURS after the accident! This is equivalent to 9 or 10 drinks at his body weight. It was probably more than that, given the two hours for the BAC to lower. He says he had a designated driver lined up, but they were unavailable or drunk themselves. So, shouldn't he have called a cab or a friend? He has the money to pay for 10 drinks but not for a cab? Please, spare me. If ever there was a case that cried out for murder charges, this was it.

To the person who asked why this was a longer sentence than the two people who killed the USC student - there was no malice aforethought involved, no prior incidents, no driving drunk. There were fewer charges overall, and thus the maxiumum sentence available to be levied was much lower. I can't say that I disagree that they should have had a long sentence as well, but they were sentenced to what they could be given the circumstances.

[Greg Maragos]

Regardless of what this is called, quite clearly this man is a danger to society and should be put away for a good, long time.

There will always be individuals who will drink and drive regardless of the safety of others, but as a society we can best reduce the number of such tragedies by consistently upholding the principle that acting in this fashion has severe consequences.

[The Critical Eye]

This is justice. This person, not matter what he says, killed someone. It is time that we take this multi-time offenders off the road. If you drink and drive you are responsible for what happens. We have been told enough times that driving over the lawful alcohol level is dangerous. It is against the law and if you kill someone in such a state it is MURDER!!!!!!!!!!

[caitb]

No, Ms. Goodman you are wrong - he is EXACTLY what I have in mind when I think of a murderer...

[DBF]

that's 18.33 years per person....all of those killed were in their mid 20's....55 years sounds like an easy sentence for all of that life Gallo stole....had each victim lived a full life they would have likely lived another 50 years per person...that's 150 years in total....and that's a lot of memories that irresponsible drunk stole from the victims' families.

[Mark]

How can this NOT be a multiple murder? If I fired a loaded gun into a crowd and killed three people, maybe I didn't intend to kill those specific persons, but I should have known that my actions would have led to the death of someone. That's 2nd degree murder.

[giley1]

Justice prevailed in this case. Gallo damn well knew the consequences of his actions, driking and driving. Besides his possible 55 year sentence which we know he will not serve completely, he should never be allowed to get another drivers license here. DUI while it has gotten tougher since the early 80s thanx to MADD and their push for the tougher laws, there is still a lot of slack being given to drunk driving. There also needs to be better coordination between jurisdictions for better consistancy in sentencing.

[mark shapiro]

if this was paris hilton,,she would get off

[john]

You're right Steve. Attorney's play with words and think most of us are stupid. Unfortunately, a lot of jurors are stupid, so even though attorneys don't necessarily believe in what they are saying, the game works...........

[Lenore Simonson]

Attorney Jacquline Goodman says "He is a young man with bad judgment who is now caught in a tragic situation, she said.
"Use your common sense," she said. "Is it murder?"

Yes, it is murder. My son was murdered in the same way. Bad judgement? Good God. The fact that people like this attorney and this nummy nuts kid walk the same earth as me is terrifying.

[Bif Larson]

DRUNK vs. underage DRUNK - oh well...
A toxicology report on Courtney Stewart, the young woman who was killed along with Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart in an April car crash, reveals that Stewart—who was behind the wheel of Adenhart's car—was legally drunk at the time.

Orange County Weekly obtained a copy of the report (posted on their website) showing that Stewart's "postmortem" blood alcohol level was .16, twice the legal limit for a regular driver—however, Stewart was also underage.
Driver Of Nick Adenhart's Car Was Also Drunk

[Lauren G.]

---- YES! YES! YES! FINALLY SOMEONE IS BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR A TRAGEDY THAT COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN AVOIDED. IT IS SO RIDICULOUS THAT THIS IDIOT CAUSED SO MUCH GRIEF AND PAIN DUE TO HIS EXCESSIVE DRINKING. I HOPE HE IS SENTENCED TO 55 YEARS BEFORE PAROLE IS A POSSIBILITY. THAT WAY, HIS YOUTH WILL BE TAKEN FROM HIM LIKE HE TOOK THE YOUTH AND LIVES AWAY FROM THOSE FOUR UNFORTUNATE YOUNG PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE ACCIDENT.

[Proudbrown]

Drinking really does no one any good except for the liquor industry. In NO way do I think his crime should go unpunished. What about the driver who was killed? She was also under the influence of alcohol. Shouldn't there be some comparative negligence? I think that should be taken into account in the sentencing phase. I am curious, does anyone think any of the jurors hadn't formed an opinion of the case before trial. A lot of publicity. Does anyone think this sentence would have happened if the person on trial was white and all the persons who were killed and injured where brown? I'm sure the fact that the driver was also intoxicated would have played BIG in the trial and in the News.

[Robert Lambert]

This dumb moron was lucky enough to get an opportunity to reform his behavior after his first DUI. Instead, he chose to spit on that second chance and went out killed three people with his worthless brother-in-law.

They always say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Kudos to the Gallo and Rivera families for raising these murderers.

[jane]

I think it is about time to show drunk drivers who kill we will not stand for it any longer. I wish every one of then could be convicted of MURDER...

[Lauren G.]

--- To the Families: I'm so sorry that you have had to endure this nightmare. This monster that killed three young, vibrant, people with bright futures is going to watch his youth waste away in prison, a fitting price to pay...even better than the death penalty. I can only hope that some young person who thinks that drinking is fun will take note of this tragic event, and the resulting consequences.

[Reality Chick]

Has anyone looked into why Nick Adenhart was in a car with an underaged drunkened female that night? Who was filling her with booze? And where was she headed with those two men?

[joe]

It's a pre-meditated action. They decided to get drunk. They decided to get in their vehicle knowing that they were drunk. They murdered three people that had nothing to do with their decision to drive impaired. Drinking or getting high before driving isn't a joke to be taken lightly. It's a plague on our society that causes so much destruction and cost to the taxpayer.

[Jim]

@ Bif

Regardless of Nick's Driver's BAC, aside from not being sober, she was driving legally. Don't forget that Gallo was the one that ran the red light. He was the one that t-boned Nick and the other passengers. This was a trial about him, not the female driver. I'm sure if she were still alive, she would have received probation and other related offenses along with drunk driving.

[North of Sunset]

The passage of Prop 19 will bring a whole slew of DUI accident and deaths. Legal weed means the price will drop and dope heads will smoke more weed, endangering everyone on the highway.

[Bay to LA]

Kelly Davenport,

Murder does not require an intent to kill, especially with a 2nd degree charge. When you handle a dangerous weapon (which a car can easily be defined as) with blatant disregard for others, a murder classification is not a stretch.

If he had been spent those fateful minutes checking on the people he had just harmed/killed rather than running for his life and leaving everyone, including his own brother, to deal with his consequences, maybe the jury would have been sympathetic and agreed that this was all just an accident.

[Eric of Reseda]

"Use your common sense," she said. "Is it murder?"

YEAH, it's murder!!!! What an ABSOLUTE scumbag of a lawyer. The guy was TOLD if he drank and drove again adn killed someone, that he would be charged with murder!!! So, YEAH, it's murder! He intentionally drank and drove and ended up killing THREE people, internally decapitating another, and potentially ruined the lives of surviving family members!!!

In another time and place, this guy would have been RIGHTFULLY hung on the spot in a demonstration of TRUE justice.

As it is, this guy will be housed, clothed, provided with medical care, allowed to recreate, maybe even get conjugal visits at some point (if he marries while imprisoned), all for killing three people. Use your common sense Ms. Scumbag Lawyer. Is that justice?