Case of California cheese magnate’s wife, accused of high-speed DUI crash, still unresolved
The drunk driving case against Lori Rossi Gallo, wife of cheese magnate Mike Gallo, has been pushed into January, nearly a full year since her arrest.
Gallo appeared in Merced County Superior Court on Thursday with her defense attorney, Peter Jones, at her side.
Jones asked Judge Carol Ash to continue her pre-preliminary hearing to Jan 12 and she approved it without any opposition from the prosecution.
Jones said during court that he is “working on a resolution.” He hopes that can happen next year.
By the time Gallo returns to court, a new Merced County district attorney will be leading the office. Earlier this year, incumbent Kimberly Lewis lost her race to challenger Nicole Silveira, who is currently the supervising deputy district attorney for the DA’s office.
Jones downplayed the length of time it has taken for the case to be resolved. “This is not an unusual amount of time to take on a felony case,” he said. “And there has been a backlog of cases because of the pandemic.”
Gallo was arrested by Merced police on Jan. 22 after allegedly driving a Maserati down G Street at 125 mph. She has pleaded not guilty.
Police said she side-swiped a Lexus that was traveling south as she was approaching Cardella Road. She is also accused of hitting a Honda that was stopped at the intersection.
Both the Maserati and Lexus went into a ditch several hundred feet away, police said, and another car was damaged after hitting a wheel and tire that had been torn off the Gallo’s vehicle.
Gallo is charged with two felonies, driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage causing injury and driving with a .08% blood alcohol content causing injury.
Jones said Gallo has continued attending AA meetings three times a week, even though the court only ordered her to attend one per week.
This story was originally published November 18, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
