| Jonathan Lewis Jr. | |
| Birth Date: | January 10, 2006 |
| Birth Place: | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.[1] |
| Death Date: | November 1, 2023 (aged 17) |
| Death Place: | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Death Cause: | Blunt force trauma |
| Education: | Rancho High School |
On November 1, 2023, Jonathan Edward Lewis Jr., a 17-year-old student at Rancho High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., was attacked by a mob of students at the school. Lewis had been standing up for a friend who was bullied by the students. He succumbed to injuries from the assault on November 7, 2023.
Jonathan Lewis Jr. was described by his father as "a loving, giving, kind, fierce young man who loved community and caring for others." He aspired to become an artist, being interested in drawing, photography and painting and a connoisseur in music, especially hip hop.[2] [3] He was also considering joining the military, like his grandfather who served in the U.S. Navy. At the time of his death, Lewis lived with his mother and had plans to move to Austin, Texas with his father.[4]
The incident that led to the death of Jonathan Lewis reportedly began when earlier in the week, a group of bullies stole a pair of wireless headphones and possibly a marijuana vape pen from a student, who was a friend of Lewis and smaller than him,[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] and threw him into a trash can.[3] [11] Following that, the students agreed to meet in a back alley around a corner from campus to fight, which happened after classes on Wednesday, November 1, 2023. Initially, Jonathan was not planned to be involved in the altercation but accompanied his friend to the alleyway where the incident took place. They faced a mob of approximately 15 students. A video of the brawl shows Lewis taking off his shirt to prepare for the fight,[12] before being swarmed, pushed against a fence and forced onto the ground, where he is punched, kicked and stomped on by 10 individuals.
After the assault, Lewis was found badly beaten and unconscious by a person who carried him back to campus, where the school staff called 911. He was taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, where he was hospitalized and placed on life support. Doctors soon determined he had "nonsurvivable head trauma". Six days later on November 7, Lewis was declared medically brain dead. An autopsy performed by the Clark County coroner's office determined that the cause of death was blunt force trauma.
Nine juveniles have been taken into custody and are facing murder charges. The suspects range in age from 13 to 17 and are students at Rancho High School.[13] Four of the teenagers, identified as Gianni Robinson, Damien Hernandez, Treavion Randolph and Dontral Beaver, were scheduled to be tried as adults since they were in the age range of 16 to 17. The other teenagers were ordered to be held in juvenile detention center until the certification hearings could be held on December 6, 2023, due to their ages ranging from 13 to 15.[14] The remaining student that participated in the beating is still at large. In January 2024, a 15-year-old pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and will be committed to Child Correctional Services.[15] In February, two more of the defendants under 16, including the 13-year-old, pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter.[16] [17]
On August 2, 2024, the District Attorney backtracked and allowed the four older teenagers to plead guilty to manslaughter as juveniles. The deal was contingent on all four of them accepting it. If any of them backed out of the deal, they would again be charged in adult court.[18] [19] Lewis' mother has criticized the deal, which she stated she was not notified of, telling KLAS-TV "You cannot jump on a human being's head, stomp on him, and think that they're going to remain alive after. They knew he was going to die, and that's how I feel – and they're letting them get away with murder." She also said "There is no justice for my son Jonathan Lewis, that was stomped to death and murdered while 20 people stood there and did nothing more than film it and broadcast it to social media."[20] On September 4, 2024, the four struck the deal, pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Karen A. Connolly, an attorney for Damien Hernandez, told CBS News, "Though not one of the major participants, Damien deeply regrets his participation in the melee which resulted in Jonathan's tragic death. He accepts full responsibility and will accept whatever punishment is meted out."[21]