Judge refuses to lower bail for driver involved in six deaths

Wednesday, May 3, 2000 | 10:02 a.m.

A judge has refused to lower the bail for a woman accused of driving under the influence when her minivan slammed into a roadside work crew, killing six teen-agers.

District Judge Mark Gibbons ruled that the bail for Jessica Williams remain at $5 million.

Attorney John Watkins urged that the bail be reduced to $30,000 and that his 21-year-old client be placed under stringent house arrest provisions.

"She is not a murderess," Watkins said of his client, who has no prior criminal record.

Deputy District Attorney Bruce Nelson urged Gibbons to maintain the high bail, saying Williams has never been a Nevada resident and had proven to be a danger to the community by driving under the influence of marijuana.

"What we have here is a horrific crime with a horrific defendant," Nelson said.

Gibbons denied the request to lower the bail to $30,000, saying the lowest he would even consider would be in the high six-figures. Watkins told the judge his client's family does not have the resources to make the higher bail.

Prosecutors contend Williams was driving under the influence March 19 when she plowed into a work crew along Interstate 15, killing six teen-agers and injuring a seventh.