Mother Who Killed Defendant Pleads Not Guilty : Crime: Ellie Nesler makes first public appearance after courthouse shooting of her son’s accused molester. Donations pour in and movie producers scramble for story rights.

Ellie Nesler, the mother who gunned down her son’s accused molester in court, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of first-degree murder as dozens of supporters rallied outside a courthouse in Mother Lode country chanting “We love Ellie!”

Sonora Justice Court Judge Douglas Boyack ordered a preliminary hearing May 17 to determine if Nesler should stand trial in the slaying of Daniel Mark Driver, 35.

Nesler, 40, appeared relaxed in court despite the crush of media outside. Several times during the arraignment, she looked back at her 11-year-old son and her two sisters and smiled.

Outside the Tuolumne County Courthouse 115 miles northeast of here, about 100 demonstrators cheered Nesler’s first public appearance since a Sacramento bail bondsman posted her $500,0000 bail a week ago. They held up signs saying: “Good Job, Ellie,” and listened to a country-Western ode to Nesler titled “Pray for Mommy’s Hand.”

Logging trucks rumbled down California 49 past the courthouse blowing their whistles. A plane flew overhead trailing a banner, “We Support Ellie.”

Nesler is charged with firing five bullets into Driver during an April 2 preliminary hearing to determine if the convicted child molester should stand trial. He was accused of molesting Nesler’s son, then 7, and three other boys, ages 6 to 8, in 1988.

Calls of support continue to pour in from across the country, Canada and Europe for Nesler, a miner’s daughter whose roots go back three generations in the Gold Rush country.

“The response has been overwhelming,” said Patrick Dowling, president of Sentinel Savings and Loan, one of two area banks collecting Ellie Nesler defense funds. “While we can’t reveal the exact amount, I can say that hundreds of people have written cards and letters and sent in money. It’s just starting to kick in now.”

With Nesler in hiding, her family has had to field overtures from movie producers scrambling to acquire her story rights and lawyers jockeying to represent her. Melvin Belli, the San Francisco defense attorney who grew up near Sonora, made a personal pitch.

Nesler appeared in court with attorney David Lewis of New York, who represented former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega at his drug trial.

Her defense will be that the circumstances justified the killing, Lewis said.

“The law allows for excuses for certain acts, and we are going to try the case on that basis,” Lewis told the Associated Press. “We’re not going to do anything to undermine Ellie’s moral authority.”

Her family says several events that morning pushed her over the edge.

Her son told The Times that he awakened sick to his stomach in anticipation of testifying against Driver. Nesler and the boy were sitting outside the tiny courtroom in nearby Jamestown when Driver, being led in handcuffs and a belly chain, allegedly flashed a big smirk. Nesler lunged at Driver, but her sister and cousin held her back.

Later that morning, the mother of another alleged victim walked out of the courtroom shaking her head. She told Nesler that testimony from her son and the other boys was weak and that Driver “is going to walk.”

After the judge called a recess, a sheriff’s deputy led Nesler into the courtroom. Without a word she pulled out a .25-caliber pistol and emptied it, hitting Driver five times, according to witnesses.