by: David Charns
Posted: Nov 21, 2022 / 01:05 PM PST
Updated: Nov 21, 2022 / 04:31 PM PST
Case delayed since Oct. 13 arrest until Monday
HENDERSON, Nev. (KLAS) — A judge ordered a Las Vegas woman accused of her seventh DUI to be held on $5,000 bail more than 5 weeks after her initial arrest amid repeated delays in the case.
Marion Reyes-Rivero first appeared in Henderson Justice Court on Oct. 18 for what records show was her seventh DUI charge since 2007, the 8 News Now Investigators reported. The Nevada DMV revoked her license most recently in June.
A criminal records check for police agencies in southern Nevada revealed Reyes-Rivero has been arrested 21 times, including re-bookings ahead of jail appearances. Reyes-Rivero was previously arrested on DUI charges in April 2007, September 2010, April 2019, February 2020 and July 2020, documents said.
In August, Clark County School District police arrested Reyes-Rivero on a DUI charge hours after Reyes-Rivero was in court closing out a separate DUI case, records showed.
In that case, a police officer stopped Reyes-Rivero for speeding near Windmill Lane and Bermuda Road. During that arrest, Reyes-Rivero did not have a license and lied about her identification, police said. Documents indicated the Nevada DMV had revoked Reyes-Rivero’s license in 2020. The exact date of revocation remained unclear Tuesday.
During the August arrest, Reyes-Rivero told police she “just had court this morning” at 7:30 a.m. where she had completed a course for a previous DUI charge, documents said.
On Thursday, Oct. 13, Henderson police arrested Reyes-Rivero after officers said she stopped her car in the middle of two travel lanes on Warm Springs Road near Green Valley Parkway, documents said
While speaking to Reyes-Rivero, a Henderson police officer noted Reyes-Rivero’s eyes were “bloodshot and watery” and her speech was “slow and slurred.” Reyes-Rivero then urinated on herself, police said.
“Marion, states, with a slow and slurred speech, that she did not have a driver’s license because it was taken away for a prior DUI arrest,” a Henderson police officer wrote in Reyes-Rivero’s most-recent arrest report.
Police determined Reyes-Rivero was driving a family member’s car, they said.
The August and October arrests bring the total to seven DUI accusations, including at least two convictions. Nevada law resets non-felony DUIs to zero after 7 years of a clean record.
On Oct. 18, Henderson District Court Chief Judge Sam Bateman released Reyes-Rivero from custody on her own recognizance because prosecutors had not received blood results from the most recent case, Bateman told the court.
Prosecutors had yet to receive the results during the next hearing on Nov. 2, delaying the case, again. Deputy District Attorney Christopher Pandelis blamed the setback on the Henderson crime lab.
“The Henderson Police Department lab informed us that initial testing on the blood was done by the lab, but a report has not been typed and the review process that is typically done by the lab has not been initiated, therefore they could not complete the final report that we would need,” Pandelis told the court Wednesday.
Prosecutors must file charging documents within a reasonable amount of time for a judge to hold a person on those charges or set bail, according to state law. Pandelis said prosecutors had asked the lab to expedite the process.
“In response to us expressing that urgency, they informed us that all the Henderson Police Department lab scientists that are employed at that lab were out of town this week,” Pandelis said.
“All at the same time?” Bateman asked.
“Yes, they are out at a conference,” Pandelis said.
A spokesperson for the city said the information Pandelis provided in court was inaccurate and that two people were at the conference, which the spokesperson said would not delay the processing of the blood test.
Prosecutors had filed the charges against Reyes-Rivero by her next court appearance on Nov. 14. The pro tem judge continued Bateman’s release conditions to allow Reyes-Rivero to review the charges against her, he said in court.
It was not until Monday that Judge Stephen George, who took over the case, set bail at $5,000. Prosecutors argued Reyes-Rivero to be held on $50,000 bail, citing her previous arrests.
“I do have substantial concerns with the situation we are dealing with here,” George said.
A bailiff handcuffed Reyes-Rivero in court, taking her into custody. If she makes bail, Reyes-Rivero will have to wear an alcohol-monitoring alcohol bracelet.
George also ordered her, once again, not to drive.
