Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Sun
Vladimir Lagerev waits to be called by Justice of the Peace William D. Jansen during an arraignment in 2009 on felony DUI charges at the Regional Justice Center.
Published Wednesday, April 22, 2009 | 12:05 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, April 22, 2009 | 1 p.m.
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- Rebel Girls Mourn Lindsay Bennett (4-21-2009)
About 50 friends of Lindsay Bennett showed up in Justice Court hours before her funeral this morning to watch as the man charged with drunken driving in connection with her death appeared in court.
Vladimir Lagerev, 45, is being held in the Clark County Detention Center in lieu of $3,000 bail on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol with substantial bodily harm, felony reckless driving and driving without proof of insurance.
Police allege that Lagerev hit Bennett head-on about 9:30 p.m. April 15 while driving the wrong way on an offramp to Interstate 215 at Windmill Lane, according to an arrest report.
Bennett died two days later at University Medical Center. Her funeral service was held at 11 this morning at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Henderson.
The 7:30 a.m. hearing was postponed for several minutes while a Russian interpreter was found for Lagerev, and the hallway outside Justice of the Peace William Jansen’s courtroom filled with people.
Attorney Donn Ianuzi filed a motion to release Lagerev from the county jail on his own recognizance or under supervision, and Jansen rescheduled the hearing to 8 a.m. April 27 before Justice of the Peace Nancy Oesterle to give Deputy District Attorney Bruce Nelson time to file a response.
Nelson said after the hearing he would oppose the request and ask for higher bail, because he considers Lagerev a flight risk. Lagerev has family in Russia and is not a U.S. citizen, Nelson said.
Nelson added that by Monday, he should have the results of a blood alcohol test performed on Lagerev after the crash.
Photographer Mona Shield Payne contributed to this report.
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