Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 | 11:19 a.m.
Jordan Alexander Barson
A judge in Las Vegas has set bail at $750,000 for an Arizona truck driver jailed since December on felony driving under the influence charges in a crash that killed five bicyclists on a Nevada highway.
Jordan Barson’s attorney, Damian Sheets, said Friday he believes Justice of the Peace Suzan Baucum unfairly set unattainable bail while ruling Thursday that Barson could be freed but can’t drive and must submit to random alcohol and drug tests.
“Setting bail at an arbitrarily high number so as to intentionally detain a defendant is improper,” Sheets said.
Sheets said he intends to challenge evidence at a March 4 hearing set to determine if Barson should stand trial in state court.
Barson, 45, of Kingman, Arizona, faces 14 charges, including driving under the influence of drugs causing death and reckless driving.
He is accused of crashing the box truck he was driving into a group of recreational bicyclists Dec. 10 on U.S. 95 between Boulder City and Searchlight, Nevada.
A prosecutor said blood tests showed Barson had more than nine times the amount of methamphetamine in his system needed to prove impairment.
The five bicyclists killed were among a group making an annual scenic ride through the desert. Four others were injured.
