SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A man accused of killing two teenagers in a high-speed crash is back behind bars. Damion Laurelez spent more than a year in jail following the April 2024 crash.
Last month, he was released on bond, but his freedom didn’t last long.
Court documents say Laurelez got out of jail last month after a relative paid his $100,000 cash bond.
Now, there’s an even heftier price to pay if he wants to leave jail before his trial.
When Damion Laurelez was 17, police say he crashed an SUV into a tree and house along East 18th Street in central Sioux Falls.
Investigators believe Laurelez was driving somewhere between 73 and 78 miles per hour and had alcohol and marijuana in his system. The April 2024 crash killed two people and injured several others.
“I’ve been doing this job 17, 18 years, and I certainly can’t think of an accident that I’ve been to that is more catastrophic than this. This was a very, very serious scene, and quite frankly, very tragic that we lost two lives in this but also an absolute miracle that we don’t have 7 deceased in this if you look at that vehicle,” Lt. Andrew Siebenborn with the Sioux Falls Police Department said in April 2024.
Laurelez was charged with multiple counts of manslaughter and vehicular homicide along with other charges.
Court documents say last month, a relative posted Laurelez’s $100,000 cash bond, and the now 19-year-old was released from jail.
On Friday, Laurelez was back in the Minnehaha County Courthouse for a motions hearing. According to court documents, his bond was revoked because he tested positive for THC, which violated his bond conditions. The prosecutor in the case told us that Laurelez was tested as part of his probation.
This time, the judge set his bond at $300,000 cash only. The next hearing is scheduled for October 24.
If Laurelez comes up with $300,000 and is released again, all of the prior conditions of his bail will remain.
That means he will once again need to avoid alcohol and drugs.
The prosecutor says the judge has not yet determined what will happen with the $100,000 that was used to bail Laurelez out of jail.
