Attorney wants $4M bail lowered for woman charged with murder in crash that killed Las Vegas teens

An attorney representing a woman charged with murder and driving under the influence in a March 29 crash that killed three Las Vegas teenagers in Huntington Beach argued in court documents this week that her client is not a flight risk and that her bail should be reduced from $4 million.

Bani Duarte, 27, of San Clemente faces three counts of murder and one count of driving under the influence causing injury, as well as a possible sentencing enhancement on allegations of inflicting great bodily injury. She pleaded not guilty Monday to all charges, according to Orange County Superior Court records.

If convicted, she could be sentenced to 51 years to life in state prison, according to prosecutors.

Duarte, who is being held at Orange County Jail in Santa Ana, appeared Thursday in Superior Court in Westminster for a scheduled hearing to review her bail amount. However, attorneys decided to delay the hearing until May 29. They did not provide a reason.

During Duarte’s arraignment Monday, Judge Thomas Glazier set her bail at $4 million. Prosecutors argued that it should be $5 million, while Duarte’s defense attorney, Debra White, suggested $100,000.

Duarte, who is listed in jail records as a receptionist, was initially arrested after the crash on suspicion of driving under the influence and gross vehicular manslaughter and posted $100,000 bail three days later.

Investigators said they took Duarte into custody again at about 1 p.m. Sunday in Downey on a warrant after they received information that she may have intended to flee the country to avoid prosecution. It isn’t clear what information led to that conclusion.

White wrote in a court motion filed Monday that Duarte has four children younger than 10 and shares custody of them with their father. She has no family outside California and therefore would be unlikely to flee, White argued.

Duarte is a permanent legal resident of the United States who has lived in the country since she was a child, White said. It isn’t clear where she lived before moving to the U.S.

The teenagers who were killed were visiting Southern California from Las Vegas for spring break when the fiery crash occurred shortly after 1 a.m. at Pacific Coast Highway and Magnolia Street.

Authorities allege Duarte was traveling north on PCH in a Hyundai Sonata when she rear-ended the teens’ Toyota, which was stopped at a red light at the intersection with Magnolia.

The impact pushed the Toyota through the intersection and forced it into a pole, and it burst into flames, prosecutors said.

Brooke Hawley, 17, Dylan Mack, 18, and A.J. Rossi, 17, were killed. Alexis Vargas, a fourth teenager in the Toyota, survived the crash and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

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