A Los Angeles woman was ordered Tuesday to stand trial on murder and other charges stemming from an alleged DUI crash in which she struck an 18-year-old Loyola High School tennis standout who was crossing a Manhattan Beach street just weeks before he was set to graduate.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Thomas R. Sokolov denied a defense motion to dismiss the two most serious counts — murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated against Jenia Resha Belt — after a nearly daylong hearing.
Belt, now 34, is charged in a May 4, 2025, crash that fatally injured Braun Levi, who died that day at a hospital.
Belt is also facing a misdemeanor count of driving while her privilege was suspended or revoked for driving with a specified blood alcohol level.
She was arrested by the California Highway Patrol in 2023 on suspicion of DUI and hit-and-run causing property damage, but the DUI charges were dismissed as a result of her plea to the hit-and-run charge, Deputy District Attorney Brittany Vannoy told the judge.
Belt’s driver’s license was suspended in 2024, according to the prosecutor.
One of the woman’s attorneys, Kevin Hawkins, noted that his client had not been advised at the time of her sentencing in the hit-and-run case that she could face a murder charge if she drove under the influence and killed someone.
Manhattan Beach Police Department Officer Jimmy Rellis testified that he found the teen lying on the ground on Sepulveda Boulevard next to the silver Infiniti SUV, which he said had major front-end damage, and that he decided to arrest Belt after a series of field sobriety tests that were recorded on bodycam video.
Belt told police that she had consumed one Moscow Mule at a bar in Hermosa Beach.
Belt subsequently told officers that she believed she could safely operate a vehicle unless she had consumed two bottles of wine, according to Manhattan Beach Police Department Officer Chasen Gaunt.
Under cross-examination, the officer said one of the group of people with Levi told police that they had all been drinking at a party, and that three of them safely crossed the street and that someone yelled at Levi to hurry up or stay on the other side of the street.
Gaunt acknowledged that he had concluded that there were two causes for the crash — Belt allegedly driving under the influence and the teen walking in the roadway and not yielding the right of way to oncoming traffic outside a crosswalk.
California Highway Patrol investigator Jeffrey Crain estimated that the vehicle was traveling between 49 and 53 mph in the 35-mph zone moments leading up to the crash, but acknowledged under cross-examination that he couldn’t say exactly how fast Belt was driving at the time of the collision.
Belt’s attorney argued that the collision would not have occurred if Levi had not stepped into the street, noting that one of the woman’s passengers testified that there was nothing to indicate that she was too impaired to drive.
Belt’s longtime friend said she didn’t remember seeing the woman with any alcoholic drinks after spending the day and evening together with a group of friends.
The prosecutor countered that it was not a case where the teen jumped out in front of the defendant’s car, saying that Belt was aware of the dangers of drunken driving and noting again that she had been previously arrested on suspicion of DUI.
Belt was initially arrested shortly after the 12:43 a.m. crash in the 100 block of South Sepulveda Boulevard, but was released from custody a month later, according to jail records.
She was charged last December and has remained in jail since then.
The teen’s family had relocated to Manhattan Beach after losing their home in the Palisades Fire.
The teen was nationally ranked in tennis, and his family told reporters he was bound for the University of Virginia.
His mother, Jennifer, told reporters last December that California needs to be tougher on drunk driving.
“The feeling, the sight, the smell of identifying our son’s body will never leave my mind, body or soul,” she said then. “So I will not be silent. That’s why I’m committed to advancing a new bill to restructure California DUI sentencing and punishment.”
Following the teen’s death, Loyola High School posted on its website, “Braun was a shining presence in our Loyola family, bringing light, joy and inspiration to everyone he touched. As the Varsity tennis team captain for three years, Braun was a true leader and student athlete, serving as a member of the Student Council, a senior Big Brother, Kairos retreat leader and volleyball team manager.
“… May his family find peace, strength and solace in the embrace of our collective love and support.”
The U.S. Tennis Association Southern California published an extensive tribute to the teen, saying he “had a way of brightening every room he walked into; he was radiant. His sportsmanship never wavered. And his love — for tennis, people, and life — was always evident.”