Zaon Collins appears in court; DUI case again delayed

A judge delayed court proceedings Thursday for former UNLV basketball recruit Zaon Collins while attorneys wait for a decision from the Nevada Supreme Court.

In January, Collins’ lawyers filed court documents asking the Supreme Court to order the dismissal of his DUI charge, which stems from a 2020 crash that killed 52-year-old Eric Echevarria.

Defense attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld have argued that the DUI charge is based on an unconstitutional state law regarding driving while under the influence of marijuana.

Collins appeared in Las Vegas Justice Court on Thursday morning, when attorneys said they are still waiting on a decision from the high court.

Justice of the Peace Pro Tem Justin Zarcone set another hearing in the case for Dec. 15.

Defense attorneys have argued that Collins was not impaired by marijuana at the time of the crash on Dec. 30, 2020. Collins, 19 at the time, was driving at nearly 90 mph in a 35 mph zone when he crashed his Dodge Challenger into the Hyundai Accent driven by Echevarria, police have said.

Las Vegas police have said Collins had 3 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood in his system. Defense attorneys have argued that the level of THC was so low that Collins could have consumed the marijuana days before the crash. The legal limit for drivers in Nevada at the time of the crash was 2 nanograms per milliliter.

Justice of the Peace Suzan Baucum refused to dismiss the charges in July 2021, and District Judge Susan Johnson filed court papers in January refusing to reverse Baucum’s decision.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.