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# Farmer’s Market driver to stand trial within weeks
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/farmers-market-driver-to-stand-trial-within-weeks/
- Published: 2006-08-19T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T21:16:23.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Crime, Downtown, #archive-import

*Criminal case moves forward, civil suits linger*

DOWNTOWN LA — More than three years after he lost control of his Buick LaSabre and drove through a crowded Farmer’s Market, killing 10 and injuring 63 others, George Russell Weller will stand trial for vehicular manslaughter.

Jury selection begins Sept. 8 at the C l a r a S h o r t r i d g e Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles, with opening statements coming as early as Sept. 11, according to court officials.

Weller, 89, has pleaded not guilty to 10 felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. If convicted on all 10 counts, Weller faces a possible sentence ranging from probation to 18 years in state prison.

Weller reportedly lost control of his car after he rear-ended a Mercedes Benz at the intersection of Fourth Street and Arizona Avenue on July 16, 2003, according to a California Highway Patrol report. Police say he hit the accelerator instead of the brake, traveling 995 feet through the Farmer’s Market at speeds of up to 60 mph, hurling pedestrians into the air before stopping, the CHP report said.

The 10 people killed ranged in age from 7 months to 78 years old.

The trial was delayed several times, leaving many to wonder if Weller would ever see the inside of a courtroom. Attorneys representing victims who are suing the entities responsible for operating the market said District Attorney Steve Cooley was stalling for political gain, a claim his office has denied.

Weller is charged in the deaths of Theresa Bregalia, 50, of Bronx, N.Y.; Brendon Esfahani, 7 months, of Los Angeles; Molok Ghoulian, 62, of Los Angeles; Gloria Gonzalez, 35, of Venice; Movsha Hoffman, 78, of Santa Monica; Leroy Lattier, 55, a transient; Diana McCarthy, 41, of New York, N.Y.; Kevin McCarthy, 50, of New York, N.Y.; Cindy Valladares, 3, of Los Angeles; and Lynne Ann Weaver, 47, of Woodland Hills.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 19, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/081906.pdf?ref=smdp.com)