Elderly man pleads not guilty in farmers' market deaths
Police believe 87-year-old hit gas instead of brake
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George Russell Weller has been charged in the deaths of 10 people in a July farmer's market crash.
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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- An 87-year-old man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to vehicular manslaughter in the deaths of 10 people as his car raced through a Southern California farmers' market last summer.
The judge released George Russell Weller on his own recognizance after deciding he was not a threat to society. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paula Adele Mabrey said Weller's driver's license has been revoked.
The judge scheduled a February 9 court date to set a preliminary hearing, The Associated Press and Los Angeles Times reported. Weller's attorneys were ordered to arrange a time for him to be booked by Santa Monica police.
If convicted, a judge would decide what sentence to hand down against Weller, which could range from probation to 18 years in prison.
Attorneys for Weller don't dispute he was behind the wheel on July 16, 2003, when his car plowed through the Santa Monica Farmers' Market, however they disagree with the district attorney's allegation that a crime was committed.
After the hearing, Weller's attorneys -- Mark Overland and Jim Bianco -- said their client "sincerely apologizes" to the families of the people who were killed and the 63 people who were injured.
The district attorney's office had asked that Weller be held on $50,000 bail contending if he got behind the wheel of a car again he would endanger society.
Prosecutors said Weller acted in a "criminally negligent fashion" last summer when he drove through the market, meriting charges of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
Bianco said Weller suffers from a heart condition and was clearly in shock that day when he was taken from his car.
Santa Monica Police Chief James Butts Jr. said at a news conference in December that after a five-month investigation, authorities believe Weller hit the gas pedal instead of the brake pedal of his 1992 Buick LeSabre following a minor fender bender at an intersection near the market. He drove three blocks down the crowded pedestrian market.
The only reason his car eventually stopped, Butts said, was because a body trapped beneath the vehicle slowed it down.
"Mr. Weller was conscious throughout the collision sequence, no evidence exists that Mr. Weller attempted to take the car out of gear, there is no indication of braking throughout the entire collision sequence," Butts said.
Weller's attorneys contend his behavior may leave him open to civil penalties but contend he is not guilty of a crime.
Prosecutors, however, contend he could have stopped his car as it traveled more than 1,000 feet through the market.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
