Woman accused in death of Loyola High tennis star in Manhattan Beach pleads not guilty
By TERRI VERMEULEN KEITH
A woman accused of driving drunk and fatally striking an 18-year-old Loyola High School tennis star in Manhattan Beach just weeks before he was set to graduate pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, Jan. 13, in Torrance Superior Court.
Jenia Resha Belt, 33, was arrested shortly after the crash that occurred around 12:45 a.m. on May 4 in the 100 block of South Sepulveda Boulevard, according to jail records.
Belt was charged with murder, gross vehicular murder while intoxicated, and driving with a suspended license in the death of Braun Levi. Belt was in custody in lieu of $2 million bail.
Levi, whose family had relocated to Manhattan Beach after losing their home in the Palisades fire, was walking with a friend along Sepulveda when he was struck. He died at a hospital.
Levi was nationally ranked in tennis, and his family told reporters he was bound for the University of Virginia.
Jennifer Levi, Braun’s mother, spoke at a downtown Los Angeles news conference on Dec. 29 with District Attorney Nathan Hochman and other elected officials, saying California needs to be tougher on drunk driving.
“The feeling, the sight, the smell of identifying our son’s body will never leave my mind, body or soul,” Levi said. “So I will not be silent. That’s why I’m committed to advancing a new bill to restructure California DUI sentencing and punishment.”
The U.S. Tennis Association Southern California published an extensive tribute to Levi, saying he “had a way of brightening every room he walked into; he was radiant. His sportsmanship never wavered. And his love — for tennis, people, and life — was always evident.”