Wednesday, July 19, 2017 | 12:45 p.m.
A judge rescheduled a preliminary hearing today for a man facing DUI counts in a crash that left two Las Vegas teens dead.
Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Suzan Baucum set an Aug. 23 hearing date for Pablo Torres-Esparza, who faces two counts of DUI resulting in death and one count of driving with a suspended license.
“There was a conflict of interest with the Public Defender’s Office, so he’s being appointed to private counsel,” public defender Alex Henry said. The nature of the conflict was not specified.
According to Metro Police, Torres-Esparza, who had watery, bloodshot eyes when speaking to officers at the scene of the crash, was driving with a suspended license and didn’t remember the June 24 wreck at Marion Drive and Judson Avenue.
Shortly before Torres-Esparza, 36, crashed his 2000 Ford Expedition into a Kia Soul, he had left a nearby party with his boyfriend and gotten into a heated argument, police said. The boyfriend told Torres-Esparza to stop and got out near Marion Drive and Lake Mead Boulevard, police said.
Torres-Esparza then sped off, blowing through a stop sign at Judson about 10 p.m. and colliding with the Kia Soul, police said.
Moises Rivera, 16, and Oscar Ayala, 14, were ejected from the other vehicle and killed, while two other people suffered minor injuries, police said.
Torres-Esparza failed a Breathalyzer test, police said. He is being held at the Clark County Detention Center on $2 million bail.
