Judge: Man who killed 3 in DUI was ‘continuously’ drinking after new charge

A Las Vegas judge said Thursday he had received notifications that a DUI suspect, who had previously been convicted in a triple-fatality DUI crash, was “continuously consuming alcohol” while he was out of custody.

Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure said the information caused him to issue a bench warrant for 36-year-old Sean Larimer, who was arrested on Feb. 8. Larimer was in Las Vegas Justice Court on Thursday in connection with an August arrest.

He was set to be sentenced in the case on Jan. 25, but Bonaventure delayed the hearing after Larimer was arrested last month on suspicion of DUI in a separate Henderson case. He was accused of driving under the influence and crashing a car into a wall in the parking lot of the M Resort.

During the January hearing, Bonaventure placed Larimer on electronic monitoring while waiting on a new court evaluation, or documention meant to help a judge determine a defendant’s sentence. The judge also ordered Larimer not to drive or consume alcohol.

“Very shortly thereafter I was informed by SCRAM, the company that was monitoring him, that they had continuous, positive readings that he had been continuously consuming alcohol for a period of days,” Bonaventure said, adding that he issued the bench warrant the next day.

The sentencing hearing was delayed again on Thursday, as Larimer’s public defender, Max Berkley, said he was determining whether a treatment program would be able to accept Larimer.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Eric Bauman said he was not sure if the treatment program would have the resources to treat Larimer.

“The state’s concern is noted,” Bonaventure said. “I don’t know that they can supervise Mr. Larimer. He obviously needs a very high level of care.”

When Larimer pleaded guilty in December in the Las Vegas DUI case, he initially agreed to a 30-day suspended jail sentence, DUI traffic school and community service. His 2003 conviction cannot legally affect his upcoming sentence because he was tried as a juvenile, prosecutors have said.

Larimer was 15 when he cause a fatal crash on Nov. 10, 2003, killing 15-year-olds Travis Dunning, Josh Perry and Kyle Poff, while injuring Cody Fredericks.

Larimer, who remained in the Clark County Detention Center without bail, is due back in court on Feb. 29.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.