Former UNLV basketball recruit Zaon Collins said Thursday that he intends to plead guilty to criminal charges that could land him in jail for three months for a 2020 fatal crash that left a 52-year-old man dead.
During a court hearing Thursday, Chief Deputy District Attorney Eric Bauman said Collins has agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of reckless driving and a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter, avoiding the DUI charge he initially faced. Bauman said prosecutors are not opposed to Collins being sentenced to probation for the felony charge, and that the misdemeanor count comes with a sentence of three months in the Clark County Detention Center.
A District Court judge will have the final say in Collins’ sentence, but if the judge orders a different punishment, Collins can withdraw his guilty plea and proceed to a trial.
“Do you want to accept those negotiations?” Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure asked Collins on Thursday.
“Yes,” Collins replied.
His defense attorney, Frank Kocka, said Collins intends to enter a guilty plea when the case moves to District Court. Kocka declined to comment further on the case.
Police accused Collins of driving nearly 90 mph in a 35 mph zone before the crash on Dec. 30, 2020, when he slammed his Dodge Challenger into Eric Echevarria’s car.
Criminal proceedings were significantly delayed while former defense attorneys for Collins argued that the DUI charge was based on an unconstitutional state law regarding driving while under the influence of marijuana.
Police have said that Collins has 3 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood in his system at the time of the crash, but defense attorneys have argued that the level of THC was so low that Collins could have consumed the marijuana days prior. The legal limit for drivers in Nevada at the time of the crash was 2 nanograms per milliliter, which defense attorneys have argued is an arbitrary amount.
Collins remains out of custody on house arrest. He is scheduled to appear in District Court on June 8.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at [email protected] or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
