Rancho High School. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
OAN Staff Blake Wolf 5:15 PM – Friday, August 2, 2024
Attorneys struck a deal with four teenagers who were accused of assaulting one of their classmates to death, reducing their charges to voluntary manslaughter and keeping the boys from being tried as adults.
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“The plea represents a civil conviction, which will be expunged from the defendants’ records when they turn 21,” NBC News reported.
The violent attack took place on November 1st in Las Vegas near Rancho High School. The beat down tragically resulted in the death of 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis.
Videos of the attack showed a group of teenagers viciously beating a defenseless Lewis until he was unconscious, ultimately leading to his demise a week later.
Investigation reports also found that the students had agreed to fight in an alley “over a vape pen and wireless headphones” which were allegedly stolen from a friend of Lewis.
The footage depicted a student and a resident in the area carrying Lewis back to campus, where school staff immediately called emergency medical services.
The plea deal is contingent on all four teens agreeing, or they will all be charged as adults.
“The offer is contingent on everyone’s acceptance,” said John Giordani, Chief Deputy District Attorney.
Dontral Beaver, Damian Hernandez, Treavion Randolph and Gianni Robinson are the purported assailants who are accused of murdering Lewis.
A defense lawyer representing Robinson spoke to reporters and discussed the impact of the plea deal.
“This negotiation enables my client to graduate high school, move on with his life, and become a productive citizen,” said Robinson’s lawyer, Robert Draskovich.
Meanwhile, Melissa Ready, the mother of the 17-year-old victim, elaborated on the whirlwind of emotions and “shock” she felt after hearing about the plea deal and the reduction in the seriousness of their charges.
“You cannot jump [on] a human being’s head, stop on him, and think that they’re going to remain alive after. They knew he was going to die, and that’s how I feel – and they’re letting them get away with murder. I was told that they were going to plea guilty to murder and that the most they would get in the adult system is two years. I would’ve disagreed with the deal entirely. They should be accountable as adults – they made an adult choice,” she stated.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson responded to the victim’s mother’s remarks in his own words, acknowledging: “the pain she is going through as she mourns her son.”
Wolfson further stated that the juvenile court was “best equipped to punish the defendants for their heinous conduct,” while also providing rehabilitation services.
BREAKING: The 4 “teens” in Las Vegas charged over fatally beating classmate Jonathan Lewis receive SWEETHEART sentencing plea deal.
Adult murder charges would be fully downgraded to juvenile charges on manslaughter. No adult record.
🔥🚨BREAKING UPDATE: The teens who beat up 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis and took his life in Las Vegas won’t be charged as adults after agreeing to plead guilty to m*nsl*ughter.
They were initially charged with second-degree m*rder and conspiracy.
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