Man expected to plead guilty in fatal DUI crash in Las Vegas

Garrett Meriwether died May 22 after Alexander Brewer’s Lincoln MKX, traveling at roughly three times the 25 mph speed limit, slammed into the driver’s side of Meriwether’s Ford Fusion on Preakness Pass near Churchill Downs Drive in the west valley.

Brewer is expected to plead guilty next week to DUI involving death and felony reckless driving. He faces five to 20 years behind bars.

The 18-year-old victim’s father, Steve Meriwether, watched from a bench in the back of Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Suzan Baucum’s courtroom as prosecutor Aaron Nance informed the judge of the negotiation, after dozens of other DUI defendants passed in and out of the courtroom.

Meriwether, whose 25 years at the Metropolitan Police Department included DUI arrests and fatalities, called the agreed upon prison sentence for Brewer “fair,” though he advocated for stricter drunken driving laws and urged others to stop getting behind the wheel after drinking.

“We’re already under so much stress and so much pain, and we don’t have to add more to it,” he said. “We’re happy to be at least moving on, that we can continue on with our healing. We’ll never be fully healed, but it’s something.”

Garrett Meriwether, a 2018 graduate of Palo Verde High School who also had earned a real estate license, dreamed of running hotels since seventh grade, his father said, and remained focused on his goal while studying at UNLV’s hospitality college, where he would have entered his second year in the fall.

“In my opinion, the community lost Garrett,” his father said, choking back tears. “But Garrett is just one of many leaders that are being killed this way. These are the people you want and I want to run things for us, to give us a better world.”

Brewer remains in the Clark County Detention Center on $100,000 bail as he awaits sentencing.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.