(NewsNation) — A Los Angeles woman has been charged in connection with the death of a nationally ranked high school tennis player who was killed earlier this year by a suspected drunk driver.
Jenia Resha Belt appeared in court on Wednesday and is being held on $2 million bail, the LA County District Attorney’s Office announced. Belt has been charged with one count of felony murder and one felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Belt, 33, has also been charged with driving with a suspended or revoked license for driving with a specified blood alcohol level, which is a misdemeanor. Authorities said that Belt’s blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit at the time of the incident that killed Braun Levi.
Levi, 18, was killed in Manhattan Beach in May after he was struck by a vehicle while attempting to cross the street. Officials said at the time that Levi was killed by a suspected drunk driver. Police said the driver, who was not identified until this week, had previously been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in 2023, NewsNation reported.
Since then, Levi’s family has been working to stiffen California’s drunk driving laws. In November, Levi’s parents filed a $200 million wrongful death lawsuit.
“I feel like the state of California has failed us, and we have paid the ultimate price, and because of that, because we’ve paid the price of a lifetime of devastation and grief,” Jennifer Levi, the victim’s mother, told NewsNation earlier this year. “I have no choice but to fight.”
Jennifer Levi is scheduled to appear at a news conference with Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman on Monday to discuss the charges brought against Belt.
To honor her son’s legacy, Jennifer Levi started the Live Like Braun Foundation. She is also introducing Braun’s Bill, which would change the law’s vocabulary so that a DUI with a death is classified as a violent felony rather than an accident.
“It’s not an accident. The person who killed our son made a choice,” Jennifer Levi said. “I want Braun’s Bill passed in the state of California so that no one has to feel this pain and that justice is served.”
Belt’s arraignment was delayed until January.