Teens who beat Las Vegas boy to death avoid adult prison, mom slams plea deal: 'They’re letting them get away with murder'



Four teenagers facing murder charges over the fatal beating of a Las Vegas boy outside his high school last November have reached a plea deal with prosecutors that has enabled them to avoid serving time in adult prison. The mother of the victim of the deadly beating is outraged over the plea deal.

Dontral Beaver, 16; Treavion Randolph, 16; Gianni Robinson, 17; and Damien Hernandez, 18; all agreed on Thursday to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis Jr., according to KLAS-TV.

'There is no justice for my son Jonathan Lewis that was stomped to death and murdered while 20 people stood there and did nothing more than film it and broadcast it to social media.'

The plea deal will allow all four teens to no longer face murder charges as adults, and they will be sentenced in juvenile court. The plea deal would mean the teens would avoid being locked up in an adult prison.

All of the teens were under the age of 18 when the alleged crime was committed and were formally charged with second-degree murder in January.

Five other teens were also charged in the case with four of them having already pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the juvenile court system. One teen is yet to be sentenced.

The victim's mother said she was blindsided by the plea deal and claimed that she was not notified of the hearing held on Thursday.

“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,” Mellisa Ready told KLAS-TV.

“I would’ve disagreed with the deal entirely. They should be accountable as adults — they made an adult choice,” Ready continued. “They knew that when they were stomping on my child’s head that he was going to die as a result. You cannot jump in a human being’s head, stomp on him, and think that they’re going to remain alive after.”

Ready declared, “They knew he was going to die, and that’s how I feel — and they’re letting them get away with murder.”

The distraught mother added, “There is no justice for my son Jonathan Lewis that was stomped to death and murdered while 20 people stood there and did nothing more than film it and broadcast it to social media.”

Robert Draskovich — the attorney for Gianni Robinson — told KLAS-TV, “We were able to evaluate all the evidence as a whole and reach this mutually beneficial negotiation. Obviously, what occurred is a tragedy, but convicting these young men of murder would be a second tragedy, following the first.”

As Blaze News previously reported, Lewis was brutally mauled by a group of teens outside Rancho High School in Las Vegas on Nov. 1, 2023. Video of the vicious attack was uploaded to social media and shows a mob of teens kicking, stomping, and punching Lewis.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officers responded to a battery call and found Lewis battered and bleeding from the head. The teen was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition. Six days later, he was medically declared brain dead. The teen died after succumbing to his significant injuries. His cause of death was declared to be blunt force trauma, and his death was ruled a homicide.

Las Vegas Metro Police Lt. Jason Johansson previously said investigators suspect that the fight stemmed from a pair of wireless headphones and "possibly" a vape pen being stolen from Lewis or his friend.

At the time of the assault, Johansson described the fatal attack as being "very void of humanity."

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'Void of humanity': Las Vegas police arrest 8 teens over savage beating that resulted in death of 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis



Eight teens have been arrested in connection with the beating death of 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis near his Las Vegas high school on Nov. 1. Undersheriff Andrew Walsh of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department revealed in a press conference Tuesday that the suspects will be charged with murder.

Walsh further indicated that the investigation into Lewis' slaying is far from over, calling on parents and students who may have seen the video to help identify others in the mob who mercilessly kicked, stomped, and punched Lewis as he tried to get away.

Lt. Jason Johansson of the LVMPD's homicide section indicated that the fatal beating took place in an alley one block east of Rancho High School after classes let out. All involved in the incident were reportedly students from the school.

"As you know, the video that has been shared widely on social media ... is very graphic and in my opinion is very void of humanity," said Johansson. "What you see in the video though is approximately 10 subjects kicking, stomping, and punching our victim Jonathan as he's on the ground, not defending himself, until the point at where he becomes unconscious."

KVVU-TV previously reported that police found a student who was "battered and bleeding from the head."

According to police, the fight was initially over a pair of stolen wireless headphones and possibly also over a stolen vape pen, apparently taken earlier in the week from the victim's friend.

"After school let out, all parties then walked to that back alley where — as you see in the video — our victim removes his clothing, engages in a fight initially with one subject, and the minute the punch is thrown with that person, 10 subjects immediately swarm him," said Johansson.

After the mob overtook Lewis and left him with "non-survivable head trauma," Johansson said a concerned citizen found the victim's crumpled and unresponsive body lying in the alley, began attending to him, then carried him back to the school. He was subsequently taken to University Medical Center, where days later he perished.

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Lewis' cause of death was ruled a homicide. Police suggested there is presently no evidence to suggest that it was a hate crime.

The Clark County School District and the high school reportedly helped identify the eight suspects, who were taken into custody by law enforcement officials Tuesday morning. LVMPD also executed nine search warrants at various residences, obtaining clothing allegedly worn by the suspects during the attack.

The suspects range in age from 13 to 17. All were booked into Clark County Juvenile Hall on charges of murder.

"The case will now be turned over to the Clark County District Attorney's Office, who we've been in close coordination with," continued Johansson. "We'll go through the normal steps ... for them to be certified as an adult."

Las Vegas has seen other teens charged as adults in recent weeks for ghastly murders.

Jzamir Keys, 16, and Jesus Ayala, 18, were both charged as adults in connection to the fatal rundown of 64-year-old retired police chief Andreas Probst. Ayala and Keys appear to have filmed parts of their rampage, including when they allegedly drove a white sedan off the road, then targeted Probst, the former police chief of Bell, California, for slaughter, giggling while doing so.

"I want to say just as a parent and as a member of this community, the video that's out there and the videos that we have mentioned throughout this investigation and that you've seen reported in the media, they're extremely disturbing," said Undersheriff Walsh. "And this should be a reminder to all of us to have those difficult conversations with our children and remind them that their actions have consequences, their actions have lasting consequences, their actions have life-altering consequences."

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Left-wing activist eats his own words after complaining about racial framing of white teen's fatal beating



Jonathan Lewis, 17, was savagely beaten by a mob of 15 other students outside his Las Vegas high school on Nov. 1. His father, Jonathan Lewis Sr., indicated that the boy had drawn the ire of the attackers by standing up for "one of his smaller friends." After a week on life support at University Medical Center, Lewis Jr. succumbed to his injuries.

While the victim's family tries to process his death, others are puzzling over why this violent episode has not elicited the kind of national response other racially dichotomous incidents have in recent years.

The individual who manages the End Wokeness account on X embraced a turn of phrase often employed by BLM activists, writing Saturday, "Say his name: Jonathan Lewis. Last week, a 17-year-old white teen was beaten to death by a group of black kids. You didn't hear anything about this story because it doesn't fit the narrative."

Anti-Trump activist and liberal entrepreneur Brian Krassenstein took issue with End Wokeness' suggestion, responding Sunday, "Yes, he was white and those who beat him were black. This fight had no indication, that I am aware of, of having anything to do with race."

"I just find it ironic that the 'End Wokeness' account that constantly complains that 'woke people make everything about race,' is making this tragedy all about race," continued Krassenstein. "Remember this kid for who he is, and stop trying to turn his death into some kind of circus. Unless those he fought with were attacking him because of his skin color, stop making it about skin color."

Krassenstein then boldly asserted, "I would say the exact same thing if the roles were reversed."

End Wokeness seized upon Krassenstein's sudden moral clarity and race blindness, replying, "Hang on."

"There is still no evidence that the death of George Floyd had anything to do with race. There is still no evidence that the death of Trayvon Martin had anything to do with race. There is still no evidence that the death of Michael Brown had anything to do with race. There is still no evidence that the death of Jordan Neely had anything to do with race. There is still no evidence that the shooting of Ralph Yarl had anything to do with race. I could go on and on and on," wrote End Wokeness. "Yet that didn't stop you guys from endlessly using these deaths as proof of systemic racism."

Krassenstein, apparently committed to the notion that he wouldn't project racial acrimony onto tragedies and atrocities, answered back, "Show me where I've done this?"

Less than 10 minutes later, End Wokeness provided an example from January in which Krassenstein wrote, "What happened to Tyre Nichols is disgusting. It's cold-blooded murder. Systemic Racism is part of the problem."

Nichols was a 29-year-old black man who died after five black Memphis police officers beat him following a traffic stop in January.

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Rather than admit at least one inconsistency, Krassenstein defended his earlier argument, noting, "There is Systemic racism in this country that does make it more risky being a black man in the United States. If you think otherwise, then you're crazy. African-Americans commit more crime per capital [sic] on average, mostly because of socioeconomic differences. Therefore according to multiple studies police officers are more likely to view them as criminal or violent, including black police officers."

Another user subsequently highlighted a post that might shed some light on Krassenstein's equitable sense of outrage as it pertains to racially charged incidents.

Responding to Elon Musk's Nov. 6 statement, "Racism is racism and it is evil, no matter who is targeted. End of story," Krassenstein wrote, "The Nashville manifesto from Audrey Hale is terrible. It's racist. It's incredible [sic] disturbing and should be addressed for sure. With that said it's important to realize that, on average, racism towards a minority is usually more harmful than racism towards a group who is considered a majority. Don't pretend that racism against white people are [sic] at all equal to that of black people. The two are both bad but one has had much more impact on a race."

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Lewis Sr., the father of the victim in the Las Vegas beating, noted in a written statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, "This horrific tragedy is reflective of the divisive, conflict based, uncaring state that our society and humanity is currently facing with how we interact with our community."

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