4 Las Vegas teens plead guilty in classmate’s deadly beating as part of plea deal
LAS VEGAS — Four Las Vegas teenagers pleaded guilty Tuesday to voluntary manslaughter in the fatal assault from their high school classmate, as part of a deal with prosecutors that kept them from being tried as adults.
The teens were originally charged as adults in January with second-degree murder and conspiracy in connection with the November death of 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis Jr. The attack was captured on a cellphone and shared widely on social media.
Every teenager faces indefinite detention in a juvenile detention center, Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Juveniles prosecuted in the juvenile justice system in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, are not given traditional prison sentences. Instead, they are released after completing a rehabilitation program, said Brigid Duffy, director of the juvenile division in the Clark County District Attorney’s Office.
The Associated Press is not naming the teens because they were under 18 at the time of the Nov. 1, 2023, attack.
Defense attorney Robert Draskovich, who represents one of the four teens, said after court Tuesday that the deal was “a very fair resolution.”
Lewis’ mother, Mellisa Ready, said she disagrees with the settlement.
“There is literally no one being held accountable for the murder of my son, with any real punishment,” she told the newspaper on Tuesday. “It’s disgusting.”
In a statement to the AP last month after the terms of the deal were made publicDistrict Attorney Steve Wolfson’s office defended the case’s resolution, saying it thoughtfully addressed the egregious facts and the potential legal challenges prosecutors would face at trial.
The statement said the juvenile justice system is also better equipped to provide young suspects with resources for rehabilitation.
In Nevada, a teenager charged with murder can be charged as an adult if he or she was 13 or older when the crime occurred.
Authorities have said the students had agreed to meet in an alley near Rancho High School to battle over a vape pen and wireless headphones that had been stolen from Lewis’ friend. Lewis died of his injuries six days later.
A detective investigating the case told the grand jury that cellphone and surveillance footage showed Lewis removing his sweatshirt and punching one of the students, according to court records made public in January. The suspects then pulled Lewis to the ground and began punching, kicking and stomping him, the detective said.
A student and a resident in the area carried Lewis, who was severely beaten and unconscious, back to campus after the fight, the transcripts said. School staff called 911 and attempted to help him.