The Metropolitan Police Department has released booking photos of four teenagers implicated in the brutal mob beating of 17-year-old Rancho High School student Jonathan Lewis Jr.
17-year-old Las Vegas native Jonathan Lewis Jr. died following a vicious attack by an estimated group of 15 teenagers near Rancho High School.
Jonathan Lewis Sr., the victim’s father, confirmed this on Tuesday. The attack happened on Wednesday, November 1.
According to Lewis Sr., the confrontation began when his son stood up for a smaller friend, leading to an escalated attack by multiple assailants.
“Jonathan stood up for one of his smaller friends,” Lewis said. “A couple (of people) attacked him, and they weren’t able to hurt him enough, and they all attacked him at once,” he said.
“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,” Lewis wrote. “Empathy and love are great strength and cowardly violence is pathetic.”
“We denounce violence as a means to sociological conflict and believe being living, caring, respectful, kind, compassion, and caring are the great strength of community and emphasize that those are the values that the warriors of our family teach,” he added.
Metropolitan Police Department released the mugshots, including Gianni Robinson, 17; Dontral Beaver, 16; Damien Hernandez, 17; and Treavion Randolph, 16. These teenagers are part of a larger group of eight who were arrested on November 14th in connection with the killing.
While these four are being tried in adult court due to the severity of the crime, the other teens, all under 16, are awaiting a certification hearing in Family Court to determine if they will also be charged as adults.
Metro Undersheriff Andrew Walsh has declared that all suspects, ranging in age from 13 to 17, will be confronted with murder charges – a position reflecting the heinous nature of the crime. Nonetheless, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson has indicated that there’s ongoing assessment over the disparate levels of involvement among the teens, leaving open the question of whether each individual will indeed face formal murder charges, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
During initial court appearances in front of Hearing Master Daniel Westmeyer, Beaver, Hernandez, Robinson, and Randolph were ordered to be held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center. They are scheduled for another court appearance on Tuesday.
