A woman has been charged with murder for the alleged DUI death of an 18-year-old high school student in Manhattan Beach, California.
Earlier this year in May, 33-year-old Jenia Resha Belt allegedly killed 18-year-old Braun Levi when she struck him with her SUV as he was walking with a friend near Sepulveda Boulevard and Ronda Drive. She was formally charged this week “with one count of second-degree murder, one count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one misdemeanor count of driving on a suspended or revoked license,” per KTLA 5:
At the time of the crash, court records showed that Belt had been driving on a suspended license due to a previous drunk driving arrest in 2023, the Los Angeles Times reported.
In that incident, she was sentenced to a year of probation and ordered to make restitution while her license remained suspended.
On Dec. 23, Belt was taken into custody by investigators with the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office and booked into the Manhattan Beach Police Department Jail, where she is being held on $2 million bail.
Levi’s family lost their home in the horrible Palisades Fire and moved to Manhattan Beach during the reconstruction efforts. He had become a star student athlete at Loyola High School and a three-year captain of the varsity tennis team.
“There are hundreds of Manhattan Beach kids there and we’ve only lived here for four months,” said Adelle Levi, Braun’s sister. “That shows the impact that Braun had on people and the type of friends he can make so fast.”
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