Weller lawyers say trial was a waste of time

A day after George Weller was placed on probation, his lawyers say his trial was a waste of time and money because their client was willing months ago to plead guilty to vehicular manslaughter in the deaths of 10 people at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market.

But Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said Tuesday that Weller still had not accepted responsibility for the highest number of pedestrian fatalities from a traffic accident in California history.

“I haven’t seen anything that would suggest remorse on his part. I haven’t seen it from his lips,” Cooley said in a telephone interview. “What I’ve heard from the defense attorneys is so vague and ambiguous and inconsistent I can’t rely on it.”

“Mr. Weller was not in court for the trial, was not in court for the verdict, he was not in court for the sentencing, and that speaks volumes about any sense of remorse Mr. Weller may or may not have had,” Cooley said. “He should have been there to face the music.”

But attorney Mark Overland said he presented Cooley with a three-page letter offering Weller’s plea in July. “He blew off something that could have avoided this whole prosecution,” Overland said.

“The CHP and the [National Transportation Safety Board] both agreed that there should be no prosecution. The CHP recommended Weller be cited for speeding, and nothing else.”

Everyone recognized from the beginning that Weller drove through the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market on July 16, 2003, killing 10 people and injuring 68.

Why a lengthy, costly and painful trial was needed in a case that ended in five years’ probation for a bedridden 89-year-old man was the subject of sharp exchanges Tuesday.

Cooley, the county’s popular top law enforcement officer, said Overland’s offer was not firm. He accused the defense of “disingenuousness” and said a trial was important for a grieving community.

Jurors found Weller guilty of the most serious criminal charges -- a verdict that Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson applauded Monday as he imposed the sentence. The details were so gruesome that Johnson barred a number of crime scene photos; several witnesses, including a police officer, wept as they recounted the incident.

The conviction meant that Weller could have faced a maximum of 18 years in prison. Johnson said Weller, who turns 90 in December, deserved a prison sentence but spared him because of his deteriorating mental and physical condition.

Weller’s doctor said he suffered a seizure during the trial and had lost use of his hands and feet, and lost his memory and the control of some bodily functions.

“I believe the result of this prosecution would have been identical if they had considered the offer we made in July,” said Mark Borenstein, another defense attorney, who is a friend of Weller and knows his family socially.

“The object was to avoid expense, time and the emotional trauma to the witnesses.”

Cooley said the defense challenged evidence repeatedly during the trial, disputing the key claim that Weller was fleeing from the scene of a minor fender-bender when he entered the market.

The defense also questioned witnesses who delivered the devastating testimony that Weller, watching as bystanders tried to rescue a victim trapped under his car, demanded to know why people hadn’t gotten out of his way.

“It wasn’t all about prison. It was about accountability and about accurate justice, and it was about letting the public have some sense of how this carnage occurred in their community,” Cooley said. “We’ve got 10 dead people ... and 60 people with a wide variety of crippling and maiming injuries. That’s a big deal.

“The jury and the court concurred. I have a very real sense that the public agrees,” Cooley said.

The winning prosecutor, Deputy Dist. Atty. Ann Ambrose, had said her office would not make a sentencing recommendation.

On Tuesday, Cooley said his office had asked that Weller be sent to the custody of state officials for 90 days for a medical and physical evaluation.

Borenstein bristled at criticism from Johnson during sentencing, in which the judge said the defense had forced the long and painful trial.

He said Johnson simply was not aware of the offer to plead guilty.

Cooley was adamant that the trial was necessary and a victory.

“We conducted the trial in full public view,” said Cooley, who added that he would do nothing differently, given the chance. “We didn’t compromise this one or plea-bargain it away, just so everybody would feel better.”

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john.spano@latimes.com