Las Vegas teens plead guilty to beating classmate to death

Four Las Vegas teenagers have pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the fatal beating of a classmate, in a case that shocked the local community after the attack was shared on social media.

The teens accepted a plea deal on Tuesday, Sept. 3, preventing them from being tried as adults in the 2023 death of Jonathan Lewis Jr.

The plea deal spares them from being tried for second-degree murder, a crime they were originally charged with in January 2024.

The incident occurred on Nov. 1, 2023, and was captured on cellphone video that circulated widely on social media. The attack, described by teachers to The Associated Press as a “brutal assault,” took place in an alley near Rancho High School in Las Vegas following an argument over a vape pen and wireless earbuds allegedly stolen from a friend of Lewis.

After the attack, Lewis, 17, was left unconscious and suffered severe head trauma, dying from his injuries six days later.

On the day of the attack, Lewis reportedly accompanied a friend to the alley where the group had agreed to meet after school. Police said it remains unclear whether Lewis was originally supposed to be involved in the fight, the AP reported.

Cellphone footage shows Lewis removing his shirt to prepare for the confrontation before being set upon by the group. He was thrown to the ground, punched, kicked and stomped by at least 10 students, aged 13 to 17.

Lewis was eventually brought back to school by a student and a passerby. Rancho High School staff administered first aid and called 911, but Lewis was placed on life support and succumbed to his injuries a few days later.

The four teens, all under 18 at the time of the shooting, will now be sentenced to indefinite time in a juvenile detention center. Under Nevada law, juveniles tried in the juvenile court system do not face traditional prison sentences. Instead, they are released after completing rehabilitation programs, Brigid Duffy, director of the juvenile division for the Clark County District Attorney’s Office, told ABC affiliate Channel 10.

Defense attorney Robert Draskovich, who represents one of the teens, said the plea deal was “a very fair resolution.” However, Lewis’ mother, Mellisa Ready, expressed frustration with the plea deal.

“There is literally no one being held accountable and truly punished for my son’s murder,” Ready told Local 10. “It’s disgusting.”

Clark County Prosecutor Steve Wolfson’s office defended the plea deal in a statement to the AP, saying it was a well-considered decision given the facts of the case and the potential legal challenges a trial could have posed. The office also stressed that the juvenile justice system is better suited to punish and rehabilitate young defendants.

According to the Prison Policy Initiative, there were approximately 36,000 people in youth correctional facilities in the United States as of March 2023.