Four bullies caught on camera beating a teenager to death last year have accepted a plea deal that would allow them to plead guilty as juveniles to manslaughter. This development left a grieving mother from Las Vegas "dumbfounded and in shock."
In 2023, Melissa Ready lost her 17-year-old son Jonathan Lewis after he was beaten up by a group of teens. The bullies stomped Lewis to the point of unconsciousness, and he died a week later.
Dontral Beaver (16), Damian Hernandez (18), Treavion Randolph (16) and Gianni Robinson (17) were accused of Lewis' murder after being charged as adults back in January.
However, it was announced early this month that all four suspects accepted a plea deal. Their case will now take place in a juvenile court, with the four facing an indefinite length of imprisonment at a juvenile detention center. Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani explained that if any of the teenagers reneged from the deal, all four of them would again be charged in adult court.
Ready expressed disgust toward the plea deal, claiming that it would allow the four suspects to "get away with murder." She said in an interview: "You cannot jump in a human being's head, stomp on him, and think that they're going to remain alive after." According to the distraught mother, the suspects knew her son "was going to die." (Related: Educators sound alarm over students' use of AI-generated content as a new form of bullying.)
Teens facing a murder charge can be tried as an adult in Nevada
The attack happened outside Rancho High School in Las Vegas on Nov. 1, 2023. Horrifying videos of the attack show several teenagers hitting, kicking and stomping Lewis. In Nevada, minors facing a murder charge can be charged as an adult if they were 13 or older when the crime occurred.
According to authorities in Las Vegas, the teenagers agreed to meet in the alley to fight over a vape pen and wireless headphones that were stolen from Lewis' friend. Footage also shows Lewis being carried to safety by another student and neighbor back to the high school after the brutal attack.
Robert Draskovich, a defense lawyer representing Robinson, described the attack as a "tragedy." But he claimed that convicting the four as adults would have been a second tragedy.
According to the defense lawyer said the deal would allow Robinson to "graduate high school, move on with his life and become a productive citizen." He also said he would ask at sentencing for Robinson to be released from custody with credit for time already served by the teen.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson released a statement where he acknowledged Lewis' mother's comments and "the pain she is going through as she mourns her son."
The statement also revealed that Ready was informed about the terms of the negotiations before defending the resolution of the case. It also said juvenile court is "best equipped to punish the defendants for their heinous conduct while also offering rehabilitation."
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