Judge Blocks Alcohol Evidence In Adenhart Case

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — The driver who played a role in the death of a young Anaheim Angels pitcher may have been drunk, but an Orange County judge says that evidence isn't relevant.

The attorney for a man accused of killing Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others in a drunken driving crash cannot introduce evidence that the driver of Adenhart's car may also have been drinking.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard Toohey ruled Wednesday that the evidence is irrelevant in 23-year-old Andrew Gallo's triple murder trial.

Defense attorney Jacqueline Goodman had argued that the woman driving with Adenhart was also negligent because she had an elevated blood-alcohol level and may have run the red light instead of Gallo.

Testing showed Courtney Stewart had a blood-alcohol content of .06. The legal limit for drivers under 21 is .05. Adenhart, Stewart and another man were killed April 9, 2009.

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