LAS VEGAS (AP) - A judge set bail Friday at $500,000 for a North Las Vegas man facing felony driving under the influence charges in a crash that killed two people on a northwest Las Vegas expressway.
Gustavo Martinez-Garcia, 51, appeared for his initial court appearance in a wheelchair, and a public defender, Laurie Diefenbach, said he was still recovering from injuries following the Feb. 5 crash on Summerlin Parkway.
Several family members and friends of the crash victims watched as Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Suzan Baucum referred to the deaths of 20-year-old Savanna Rae Gonzales and her 31-year-old passenger, Frank Anthony Spenia.
The judge set bail at $250,000 on each charge of DUI causing death and scheduled a preliminary hearing March 11 to determine if Martinez-Garcia should stand trial in state court.
Martinez-Garcia, who appeared with a Spanish-language interpreter, wasn’t asked to immediately enter a plea.
Martinez-Garcia is also referred to in court records as Garcia-Martinez. Prosecutor Steven Waters said he faces a minimum of two years in state prison on each charge if he is convicted.
Diefenbach acknowledged that Martinez-Garcia has prior convictions for misdemeanor driving under the influence in Las Vegas in April 1991 and March 1994.
Crash investigators say Gonzales and Spenia were killed when Garcia-Martinez’s Chevrolet Silverado pickup crossed a landscaped media and slammed head-on into their two-door Toyota Corolla sedan.
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