A grieving Las Vegas mother is “stunned and shocked” after four bullies who were caught on camera beating her son to death accepted a settlement.
Melissa Ready lost her 17-year-old son Jonathan Lewis after he was attacked and trampled unconscious by a group of teenagers. He died a week later.
Dontral Beaver, 16, Damian Hernandez, 18, Treavion Randolph, 16, and Gianni Robinson were all charged with murder after being arraigned as adults in January.
It was announced on Thursday that they all agreed to a plea deal that will allow them to plead guilty to manslaughter as juveniles.
The case would be heard by a juvenile court, with the four risking an indefinite prison sentence in a juvenile detention center.
If any of the teens back out of the deal, all four will be re-arraigned in adult court, Deputy District Attorney John Giordani said.
Speak with 8newsnowReady expressed her disgust after the settlement was announced, saying the four should be tried as adults.
Jonathan Lewis, 17, died in hospital days after he was brutally attacked by a group of about 15 other teenagers on November 1.
Damien Hernandez, 17 (left), and Treavion Randolph, 16 (right), are both charged as adults with murder
Hernandez, top left, Randolph, top right, Beaver, bottom left, and Robinson, bottom right, have all accepted a settlement offer
Ready told the newspaper: ‘You can’t jump into a person’s head, stomp on him and expect him to live.
“They knew he was going to die, and that’s how I feel – and they let him get away with it.”
‘I was told they would plead guilty to murder and that they would face a maximum of two years in prison under adult law.
“I would have completely disagreed with the deal. They should be held accountable as adults – they made a mature choice.”
She added that the prosecutors’ action had left her both “stunned” and “in shock.”
The fatal attack on Lewis took place on November 1 last year outside Rancho High School in Las Vegas.
Video footage of the attack shows a group of teenagers punching, kicking and stomping Lewis until he was knocked unconscious, from which he died a week later.
Of the nine teenagers arrested, four, including a 13-year-old boy, have pleaded guilty to manslaughter in juvenile court.
According to Vegas authorities, the students had agreed to meet in the alley and argue over a vape pen and wireless headphones that had been stolen from Lewis’ friend.
Lewis was hospitalized with serious head and other injuries and died a week later
Lewis is seen here being trampled by the group as he tries to defend himself from the attack, before being knocked unconscious
Footage obtained by 8 News Now shows Lewis being carried to safety by a student and a neighbor back to the high school after the savage attack
Imagery obtained by 8 News Now shows Lewis being rescued by a student and a neighbor and brought back to the high school after the savage attack.
Defense attorney Robert Draskovich, who represents Robinson, called the fight a tragedy but said sentencing the four as adults would have been a second tragedy.
On Thursday, he said: “These negotiations will allow my client to graduate from high school, move on with his life and become a productive citizen.”
Draskovich said he would ask at sentencing for Robinson to be released, minus time already served.
Last November, flowers were left at the scene of the disaster. One of the bouquets bore the poignant message: ‘You are a hero!!!’
In a statement, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson acknowledged Lewi’s mother’s comments and “the pain she feels as she grieves for her son.”
She said she was informed of the terms of the negotiations last week, before defending the resolution of the case.
The statement said the juvenile court was “best equipped to punish the defendants for their appalling behavior” while providing rehabilitation.
Teenager charged with murder in Nevada can be charged as an adult if they were 13 years or older when the crime occurred.
