DUI Suspect Charged Months After High School Tennis Star’s Death In Manhattan Beach

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — A DUI suspect has been charged months after Manhattan Beach police say she hit and killed a high school tennis star.

Jenia Resha Belt, 33, of Los Angeles, was charged with murder in connection with the May death of Braun W. Levi, according to Pamela J. Johnson, public information specialist with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Belt was also charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving with a suspended license, Johnson said.

Attorney information for Belt was not immediately available.

Manhattan Beach police responded to a report of a vehicle hitting a pedestrian just before 1 a.m. Sunday, May 4, the police department announced.

Despite efforts to save the pedestrian, later identified as 18-year-old Braun Levi, he later died at a hospital, police said.

Police said Belt told officers she drank “Moscow mule at a bar in Hermosa Beach before getting into the SUV to drive,” according to court documents obtained by Southern California News Group. Belt's blood alcohol content was 0.19%, more than double the legal drinking limit in California, the news outlet reported.

At the time of the crash, Belt was driving on a suspended license, which was part of a plea deal in connection with a 2023 DUI hit-and-run, according to court records obtained by Southern California News Group.

In November, Braun Levi’s parents sued Belt for $200 million in damages, as well as punitive damages, the law firm Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP announced in a written statement.

“As a repeat offender, Jenia Belt knew the inherent risks of driving under the influence, and she must be held accountable for her negligence,” the family’s attorney, Spencer Lucas, said in the written statement. “Not only has she stolen the life of an incredible young man, but she has forever changed the lives of those who loved him.”

The Levi family moved to the South Bay after losing their home in the Palisades Fire, the lawyers said.

Levi attended Loyola High School, where he served as the tennis team’s captain, according to the lawyers.

Loyola Athletics referred to him as “one of the most accomplished student-athletes in program history, having just won his 4th consecutive league championship on April 29.”

Levi, who had been admitted to the University of Virginia to play tennis,” died just weeks shy of graduation, the attorneys said.

About a month after the deadly crash, Belt was released from jail custody, according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department’s booking log, The Los Angeles Times reported.

In a November email to Patch, Zara Lockshin with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Belt had not been formally charged but that an investigation was ongoing.

Belt was taken into custody Wednesday, the Manhattan Beach Police Department said. She is being held on $2 million bail and was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, according to Johnson.

Levi's mother will join Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman at a Monday news conference to speak about the charges filed in her son's death, according to prosecutors.