Legal professionals for Las Vegas basketball standout Zaon Collins are difficult a decide’s determination to uphold costs towards the teenager in a lethal wreck.
In court docket papers filed Tuesday, attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld argued that prosecutors “have proven a acutely aware indifference” for Collins’ rights.
They argued that the Clark County district lawyer’s workplace shouldn’t have continued to pursue felony DUI and reckless driving costs towards Collins after a grand jury refused to return an indictment on the DUI rely. The attorneys have mentioned Collins was not impaired by marijuana on the time of a December crash that left Eric Echevarria lifeless.
District Lawyer Steve Wolfson didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Final week, magistrate Suzan Baucum refused to dismiss the fees. The submitting from Collins’ attorneys asks a better court docket decide to order the dismissal.
Whereas the grand jury accredited one rely of reckless driving, prosecutors continued to pursue each counts within the decrease court docket and have mentioned they’d push for a preliminary listening to, the place Baucum would determine whether or not prosecutors have sufficient proof to take the case to trial.
Authorities have mentioned Collins, 19 on the time, was driving his 2016 Dodge Challenger at practically 90 mph in a 35 mph zone close to Fort Apache and Blue Diamond roads when he crashed right into a 2016 Hyundai Accent pushed by Echevarria, a navy veteran and an elementary college worker.
Echevarria, 52, died on the best way to a hospital.
Collins performed at Bishop Gorman Excessive College earlier than he was recruited by UNLV.
Echevarria was an Military and Nationwide Guard veteran who grew up in New York Metropolis and had referred to as Las Vegas house for about twenty years. He’s survived by his spouse, a teenage son, 4 grownup stepchildren, six grandchildren, a sister and an older brother.
Las Vegas police mentioned the basketball participant had 3.0 nanograms per milliliter of THC in his system. The authorized restrict for drivers in Nevada on the time of the crash was 2.0 nanograms per milliliter. His attorneys mentioned the extent of THC in his system was so low that it might have been consumed days earlier than the crash.
Collins’ attorneys additionally argued {that a} new state regulation, enacted July 1, ought to apply to his case. That statute eliminated a prohibition on particular quantities of marijuana in a driver’s blood for misdemeanor instances however maintained the restriction in felony DUI instances.
”It’s clear that there was no rational foundation in figuring out that the two nanogram degree was applicable for contemplating whether or not an individual was impaired for legal DUI functions,” Chesnoff and Schonfeld wrote.
Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Observe @randompoker on Twitter.
