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# Lawyers say market crash was an accident, not a crime
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/lawyers-say-market-crash-was-an-accident-not-a-crime/
- Published: 2004-01-07T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:27:27.000Z
- Author: John Wood
- Tags: Crime, Downtown, #archive-import

*Weller pleads “not guilty”*

LAX COURTHOUSE — The Santa Monica man who drove through a crowded Farmers’ Market last summer leaving 10 people dead and hurting another 63 pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to felony charges of manslaughter.

Russell Weller, 87, will remain free without bail until he is tried. He faces 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and could spend as long as 18 years behind bars if convicted.

Lawyers said there is no doubt Weller caused the carnage in downtown Santa Monica on July 16, but said he is not guilty of any crime.

“The pain, suffering and heartache of the families and survivors must be unbearable at times,” said Jim Bianco, Weller’s defense attorney. “But no amount of pain, no amount of suffering and no amount of heartache can transform a terrible accident into a crime.”

Bianco said a variety of factors contributed to the accident. Those included Weller’s heart condition, called “second-degree heart block,” which can hamper circulation and cause dizziness or loss of consciousness. Bianco added that Weller might have accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, causing him to careen uncontrollably through the crowded market.

Prosecutors, who asked the judge to hold Weller in lieu of $50,000 bond, said they have more than 3,000 pages of evidence and 800 witnesses in their case against Weller. A date for a preliminary trial is scheduled for Feb. 9.

“The evidence will show that Mr. Weller was completely awake, alert and in control of that vehicle at the time of the accident,” said LA Deputy District Attorney Ann Rundle, who later added, “Everyone is responsible for their criminal behavior, regardless of their age.”

> “Everyone is responsible for their criminal behavior, regardless of their age.” — — ANN RUNDLE LA Deputy District Attorney

Weller, dressed in a dark blazer and tan pants, walked slowly with a cane into the courtroom and was escorted by Los Angeles County sheriffs. Because of the extensive media interest in his case, Weller was chaperoned into and out of the LAX Courthouse through a private entrance.

About 50 reporters, lawyers, law officers and others were witness to the courtroom proceedings. A white-haired Weller, wearing glasses and a mustache, sat with his hands crossed in his lap. He leaned forward when LA Superior Court Judge Paula Adele Mabrey asked if he understood his rights.

“Yes, your honor,” Weller replied quietly.

Since the accident, Weller, apparently suffering from a battered spirit and deteriorated health, has remained secluded in his home north of Montana Avenue. Bianco said Weller, undergoing two heart-related surgeries and suffering from a “ravaging infection” that required he take antibiotics through an IV for a month, has been in and out of the hospital since the July incident.

Despite demands from some victims and family members that Weller publicly apologize, Bianco said there are no plans for Weller to personally address the public (see related story). However, attorneys are arranging for Weller to turn himself in to authorities to be formally booked. He will be immediately released, officials said.

Last month, SMPD and the California Highway Patrol completed an extensive investigation into the accident and turned it over to the LA District Attorney’s Office. They recommended that manslaughter charges be filed against Weller. SMPD Chief James T. Butts Jr. noted that Weller did not try to stop and said Weller sped through the market for about 1,000 feet. He stopped only after a victim’s body was trapped underneath his car.

In arguing for bail to be set at $50,000, Rundle told the judge Weller should be considered a danger to society because he might again decide to drive, despite having had his license revoked shortly after the crash. Defense attorneys compared that possibility to Weller robbing a bank and said Weller is an asset to the community who poses no threat and will not flee.

“If anything, he’s changed his life since July 16, becoming a recluse in his own home,” said attorney Mark Overland, who is working alongside Bianco. Overland also pointed to Weller’s extensive volunteer work with local schools, the library and his church, and to Weller’s military background.

In the end, Judge Mabrey ordered Weller freed without bail but said he must not drive any vehicle under any circumstance. Weller, with his hands resting on the table in front of him, nodded as the judge delivered her decision.

While the Farmers’ Market crash works its way through the criminal courts, many of the victims and their families have retained attorneys to pursue Weller, along with the city of Santa Monica, which has held the market for years, and possibly General Motors, which manufactured Weller’s 1992 Buick LeSabre, for monetary compensation in the civil arena.

So far, about 30 claims have been filed against City Hall. But lawyers there said the city is not liable and have rejected all of those claims. That has not stopped the influx of lawsuits attorneys say will be filed soon.

Brian Panish, who has been retained by nearly 10 clients involved in the crash, said City Hall bears the greatest portion of liability because it should have known the market setting was dangerous. He pointed to the barricades erected at the Third Street Promenade and said the same should have been done on Arizona Avenue, where the twice-weekly Farmers’ Market is held.

“They drive the people in there for a profit, they’ve got to protect them,” he said. “It clearly was a tragedy, but it was predictable and foreseeable that someone was going to drive by, and could lose control.”

Dena Weiss, a lawyer based in West LA, agreed.

“On some streets, which are busy, there are little end pillars, and on other streets that are absolutely swamped, there is nothing — there are no pillars,” said Weiss, whose office is handling more than six of the lawsuits.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/010704-03_01-7.jpg)

Attorneys for Russell Weller speak to reporters during a press conference outside of the courthouse on Tuesday. (Photo: John Wood/ Daily Press)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 7, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/010704.pdf?ref=smdp.com)