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Noel Lardeo, a first-grade teacher, listens to testimony during a preliminary hearing at the Regional Justice Court Monday, April 2, 2012. Lardeo is accused of being under the influence of alcohol in February when she lost control of her car, striking a bus bench and critically injuring a 15-year-old boy on Spring Mountain Road.
By Jackie Valley (contact) 
Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012 | 12:42 p.m.
The Las Vegas teacher who struck a 15-year-old boy while driving drunk in February will serve at least six years behind bars.
Noel Lardeo was sentenced to serve 72 months to 180 months in prison. Clark County District Court Judge Stefany Miley handed down the sentence Wednesday.
Lardeo was given credit for 10 months of time served, meaning she will be eligible for parole in five years and two months, said Warren Geller, Lardeo's defense attorney. Geller served as Lardeo’s retained attorney, along with his law partner Frank Cofer.
In September, Lardeo, 26, pleaded guilty to driving and being in actual physical control while under the influence of alcohol resulting in substantial bodily harm, according to court records. Lardeo worked as a first-grade teacher at Roger Bryan Elementary School in Las Vegas.
During a preliminary hearing earlier this year, the victim, Conan Obenchain, testified that half his left leg was amputated and his right knee was shattered after the Feb. 5 incident.
Lardeo was driving a 2005 Acura TSX west on Spring Mountain Road, near El Camino Road, just after 5 a.m. when her car went off the right side of the road and collided with a bus shelter, striking the victim who was waiting nearby, according to Metro Police.
Lardeo failed three field sobriety tests and her blood-alcohol concentration registered higher than .08, the legal threshold for drunken driving.
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
Judge Miley is serious about keeping drunk drivers off the road.
It will cost $240,000 to put this TEACHER behind bars for 6 years.
The family certainly could have used this money.
The TEACHER could have taught for 6 years at a reduced salary as community service.
The public taxpayers and the family would be better off this way.
Oh yah, this is how logical justice is handed out in other SMARTER countries. But the US is still PURITANICAL so it STUPIDLY thinks putting people is jail is a good thing.
And BTW don't forget the MONEY MADE BY PRIVATE PRISONS in the US. 10 BILLION DOLLARS per year and climbing.
The US HAS THE MOST PEOPLE PER CAPITA in JAIL than any country in the world. OBVIOUSLY, the US has twice as many bad people than any other country in the world. Or we have a justice system that is wrong twice as much.
The latter is correct.
The family can sue her insurance company. Sure, an extra 240,000 would help this poor kid but there's no way you allow this girl to walk away and remain a teacher. Maybe this sentence will send a message to a few. We are always complaining that the sentence never fits the crime...this sentence I can support. 6 years to ponder her horrific decision to drive drunk.
Wake me up when there is a federal 3 strikes law. I'll gladly pay more in taxes to keep the guy who has 9 stolen car arrests in jail for life.
First, let me express my condolences for this young man. What I have to say other than that has no bearing on my sympathy for him.
That having been said, how is the occupation of the driver relevant? Why is "teacher" screaming out in the headline? Because teachers are supposed to be saints? Drinking and driving is illegal and is poor judgment by anyone, teacher or not. Her former occupation is irrelevant. By adding it to the headline you imply that it is somehow worse for teachers to err in judgment and commit this crime than it is for others.