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.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011 | 4:54 p.m.
Sun archives
- Man charged in DUI death of Rebel Girl not leaving country (8-23-2010)
- Trial delayed for man accused in death of UNLV freshman (10-22-2010)
- Bail lowered for man charged with DUI in UNLV student’s death (6-17-2009)
- Man pleads not guilty in alleged DUI death of UNLV freshman (5-28-2009)
- Man charged with DUI in death of Rebel Girl indicted (5-20-2009)
- Man charged in crash that killed Rebel Girl back behind bars (4-30-2009)
- Man charged in crash that killed Rebel Girl released (4-29-2009)
- Bail set for man charged in fatal I-215 crash (4-27-2009)
- Man charged with DUI in fatal head-on crash appears in court (4-22-2009)
A Clark County jury took only 15 minutes Tuesday afternoon to find Vladimir Lagerev guilty in the 2009 DUI-related death of a female UNLV student.
Lagerev was charged after traveling on the wrong way of an interstate exit ramp and causing a head-on collision that led to the death of Lindsay Bennett, an 18-year-old member of the Rebel Girls' dance team and a 2008 Coronado High School graduate.
Bennett died two days after the crash, which occurred about 9:30 p.m. April 15 on the Windmill off-ramp of Interstate 215. Police said her 2006 Honda was hit head-on by Lagerev's Acura.
Prosecutors say Lagerev had a blood-alcohol level of 0.20, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.
After the guilty verdict, Judge Jessie Walsh remanded Lagerev, 47, into custody and set his sentencing date for 8:30 a.m. May 4 in district court.
During closing arguments Tuesday, Lagerev's attorney, Stephen Stein, told the jury that the collision was "a tragedy beyond compare" and that Lagerev had felt as much sympathy and pain "as anyone in the room."
Stein asked the jury to consider the testimony of his client, who said he had consumed only two beers and two shots of vodka that evening, which, he said, would have made it impossible to have such a high blood alcohol level.
Stein told the jury it was possible that the blood was not drawn correctly and that the testing procedure could have been flawed. He also said his client had had prescription medication that day, which might have had some effect on it.
Stein also said that the signage at the spot on the interstate wasn't clear and that Lagerev didn't realize he was going the wrong way.
Deputy District Attorney Bruce Nelson told the jury it was a tragedy. He said the state had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
"I can sum it up in seven words," Nelson said. "He drank. He drove. He killed somebody."
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy