our Las Vegas teenagers accused in the fatal beating of their high school classmate have agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter in a deal that will prevent them from being tried as adults, lawyers announced Thursday, told NBC News.
Initially charged as adults with second-degree murder and conspiracy in the November death of 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis Jr., the teens faced severe penalties. A cellphone video of the fatal beating, which occurred on November 1, was widely circulated on social media.
The plea agreement, announced during a hearing before Clark County District Judge Tierra Jones, involves the four being sent to juvenile court and facing an undetermined length of imprisonment in a juvenile detention center. This development was first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani emphasized the conditional nature of the agreement. “The offer is contingent on everyone’s acceptance,” Giordani said. If any of the teens reject the deal, all four will be charged in adult court again.
The Associated Press has chosen not to name the students involved since they were juveniles at the time of the attack.
The four teens were among nine arrested in connection with Lewis’ death. The incident took place just off the campus of Rancho High School, where all were students. According to authorities, the confrontation stemmed from a dispute over a vape pen and wireless headphones stolen from Lewis’ friend. Lewis succumbed to his injuries six days after the attack.
Defense lawyer Robert Draskovich, representing one of the defendants, described the deadly fight as a tragedy and argued that convicting the teens of murder as adults would be another tragedy. “This negotiation enables my client to graduate high school, move on with his life, and become a productive citizen,” Draskovich told The Associated Press. He intends to request that his client be released from custody with credit for time already served at sentencing. While acknowledging his client’s involvement in kicking Lewis while he was on the ground, Draskovich pointed out that video evidence showed at least one person in Lewis’ group had a knife.
Mellisa Ready, Lewis’ mother, expressed her shock at the plea agreement, telling KLAS-TV in Las Vegas that she was “dumbfounded.” She mentioned that she had previously been informed by the Clark County district attorney’s office that the teens would plead guilty to murder in the adult court system.
Giordani declined to comment after the hearing but provided a statement from Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson’s office. The statement acknowledged the pain Lewis’ mother is experiencing and stated that she had been informed of the negotiation terms last week. Wolfson’s office defended the resolution as a balance of “thoughtful consideration of the egregious facts” and potential legal challenges that could arise at trial. The statement emphasized that juvenile court is “best equipped to punish the defendants for their heinous conduct” while also offering rehabilitation.
In Nevada, teenagers aged 13 or older facing murder charges can be tried as adults. A homicide detective testified last year that cellphone and surveillance videos showed Lewis initiating the confrontation by throwing a punch. The suspects then pulled Lewis to the ground and began punching, kicking, and stomping on him. A student and a nearby resident carried the badly beaten and unconscious Lewis back to the campus, where school staff called 911 and attempted to help him.