LAS VEGAS (AP) — A 17-year-old highschool scholar in Las Vegas who authorities mentioned accompanied a good friend to a prearranged combat over a pair of headphones and a vape pen was killed when 10 college students between the ages of 13 and 17 beat him in an alleyway across the nook from campus.
The sufferer’s father, Jonathan Lewis Sr., mentioned his son was attacked whereas standing up “for considered one of his smaller mates,” the Las Vegas Evaluation-Journal reported.
Eight of the ten youngsters have been arrested Tuesday by Las Vegas police and the FBI on suspicion of homicide within the Nov. 1 beating of their classmate Jonathan Lewis Jr., who died every week later. Two extra college students whom investigators haven’t but been in a position to determine will even face homicide prices, police mentioned.
The scholars weren’t instantly recognized as a result of they’re beneath 18.
A household court docket choose on Wednesday ordered 4 of the scholars who’re 16 or older to be transferred to the grownup court docket system, the Evaluation-Journal reported. Hearings will likely be held at later dates to find out if the scholars beneath 16 will likely be charged as adults.
Scott Espresso, a deputy public defender with 28 years of expertise in Las Vegas, mentioned it’s uncommon to have so many co-defendants of such younger ages charged with homicide in a single case. Espresso mentioned he had not seen court docket paperwork and doesn’t symbolize any of the defendants.
At a information convention Tuesday, Las Vegas police murder Lt. Jason Johansson mentioned the sufferer remained hospitalized with extreme head trauma and different accidents for every week till his loss of life. The coroner’s workplace in Las Vegas dominated the beating a murder.
Johansson mentioned the brawl was captured on cellphone video and had been prearranged after the headphones and vape pen have been stolen from the sufferer’s good friend.
He described the video as “very void of humanity.”
Within the video, he mentioned, the sufferer is seen taking off his shirt to arrange for the combat, after which the ten college students “instantly swarm him, pull him to the bottom and start kicking, punching and stomping on him.”
Johansson mentioned investigators consider that Lewis initially wasn’t imagined to be concerned within the combat however went together with his good friend to the alley the place the brawl was scheduled after lessons ended for the day at Rancho Excessive College in jap Las Vegas.
After the combat, he mentioned an individual within the space discovered the sufferer badly overwhelmed and unconscious within the alleyway and carried him again to campus, the place faculty employees known as 911.
In a letter despatched Tuesday to oldsters, Rancho Excessive College principal Darlin Delgado mentioned assist and sources have been accessible for college kids and employees members because the beating loss of life “has and can proceed to impression our faculty neighborhood.”
