Trial delayed for woman accused of driving into Strip crowd, killing 1

A Las Vegas judge has delayed a trial for a woman accused of driving her car onto a sidewalk on the Las Vegas Strip in 2015, killing one person and injuring dozens more.

Paris Morton, 32, who also has gone by the name Lakeisha Holloway, was scheduled to stand trial on May 30, nearly seven and a half years after the fatal crash in December 2015. After Morton filed court documents indicating she wants to dismiss her public defenders, District Judge Tierra Jones said Thursday that she was going to delay the trial.

A new trial date was not set during Thursday’s hearing. Jones said she would hold a closed hearing on May 24 to determine if a new attorney will be appointed.

Public defenders have previously said in court that the defendant changed her name from Lakeisha Holloway to Paris Morton, records show.

She has gone through multiple competency evaluations at a state psychiatric hospital since 2016 to determine if she is fit to stand trial, court records show. She was most recently deemed competent in March 2021.

She faces 71 counts, including murder, attempted murder, battery and child abuse charges. Prosecutors have said she was above the legal limit for marijuana and had intentionally driven onto the crowded Strip sidewalk, killing 32-year-old Jessica Valenzuela, of Buckeye, Arizona.

Witnesses said that the vehicle moved onto the sidewalk multiple times during the crash, which happened in front of Paris Las Vegas and Planet Hollywood Resort. Thirty-five other people were injured, authorities have said.

Morton remained in the Clark County Detention Center on Thursday without bail.

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