Hearing postponed for Venice boardwalk hit-and-run suspect

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Deputies escort Nathan Louis Campbell at the Airport Courthouse, where he was arraigned Aug. 6, 2013, on charges of driving into crowds on the Venice boardwalk, killing a honeymooning Italian woman and injuring 16 others. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Piero Casadei, left, and Katia Gruppioni, the father-in-law and aunt of Alice Gruppioni, visit a memorial at the boardwalk on Aug. 5, 2013. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

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People gather at the Venice boardwalk to remember the victims of the Aug. 3, 2013 crash. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

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A card bears the photo of Christian Casadei and Alice Gruppioni, who were on their honeymoon when Gruppioni was killed and Casadei injured. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

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Visitors leave flowers and pay their respects at a memorial on the Venice boardwalk. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

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Lisa Green, left, and Toneey Acevedo, right, stop to place remembrances at a makeshift memorial on the Venice Boardwalk near Dudley Avenue. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Remembrances and flowers at a makeshift memorial. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Life resumes on the Venice Boardwalk after a deadly crash. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Witnesses described a blue Dodge zigzagging along Ocean Front Walk, striking pedestrians and vendors before speeding away. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Bystanders, police and firefighters at the scene of the Aug. 3, 2013, incident in which a crowd of pedestrians was struck in Venice Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

By Paresh Dave

Jan. 2, 2014 11:06 AM PT

The suspect accused of using his car to kill an Italian honeymooner and injure 16 people on the Venice Boardwalk in August will have to wait at least another week to learn whether he will stand trial on murder and other charges, a judge ruled Thursday.

The final day of a preliminary hearing in the case of Nathan Louis Campbell, 38, was postponed from Thursday to Jan. 8 at the request of his public defender, Philip Dube.

“I’m simply not prepared,” Dube told Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Antonio Barreto Jr., noting that he didn’t receive transcripts of testimony given by victims and witnesses until Monday.

Campbell turned himself in to Santa Monica police an hour after the incident on Aug. 3. He’s charged with 17 counts of hit-and-run, 16 counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of murder for the death of Alice Gruppioni, 32.

Witness testimony bolstered surveillance video footage that shows Campbell’s 2008 Dodge Avenger ramming past a barrier post onto the beachfront pedestrian walkway before striking people as it careened for at least half a mile.

Dube has argued that the situation was an accident. He’s said that Campbell, who has a history of alcohol abuse, had recently purchased the vehicle and clearly intended to keep it in good condition.

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