Content in the videos included in the story may be disturbing to some readers.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Videos the 8 News Now Investigators obtained Wednesday show the lead-up and beating of a Las Vegas teenager who later died from his injuries.
Last week, a Clark County grand jury indicted Dontral Beaver, 16; Damien Hernandez, 17; Treavion Randolph, 16; and Gianni Robinson, 17, in the November 2023 death of 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis near Rancho High School. The school is located near Owens and Eastern avenues just northeast of downtown Las Vegas.
The four teenagers, who each face second-degree murder charges, are the only defendants certified to face charges in the adult system. As of Wednesday, five others were awaiting adult certification. A tenth “person of interest” remained at large. All 10 are students at Rancho, police said.
“[Robinson] said that he had been harassed by Jonathan before for stealing a wax pen or a marijuana vape or something to that respect and he was confronted by Jonathan and an adult female in regard to it,” a police officer told the grand jury. “He said nothing became of it, he proved that he didn’t have it, he showed them a bunch of money saying that hey I don’t need to steal anything, I have money on my own, and he kind of thought that was the end of it.”
One video shown to the grand jury shows two groups of students meeting in an alley near Rancho High School on Nov. 1, 2023. A group of students then lunges and stomps on Lewis as he attempts to defend himself.
Lewis then lays on the ground for several minutes. A school official told the grand jury that a neighbor and a student then carried Lewis to the school for medical aid. Lewis died several days later in the hospital from his injuries.
The official also told the panel that school leaders helped identify the students in the beating videos from school surveillance and Instagram.
Before the fatal beating, Lewis “called” to the group of students, removed a sweatshirt, and began hitting a student, an officer told the grand jury.
“And then everybody comes and he’s on the ground right now and everybody’s kicking, stomping, punching,” the officer said about the beating.
The officer also told the grand jury a friend of Lewis’ was armed with a knife and was “slicing and slashing everybody,” according to a witness, though no other person reported injuries. Another student told police they felt threatened and jumped in.
Following the crowd attacking Lewis another student was seen on cell phone video running away whilst being attacked by members of the crowd. Homicide detectives identified the other student who was targeted as a friend of Lewis.
Lewis’ cause of death was listed as multiple blunt force injuries. His manner of death was homicide.
His father, Jonathan Lewis Sr., previously said he hoped his son’s death sparked a discussion about youth violence.
On Wednesday, 8 News Now spoke to Jonathan Lewis Sr., Lewis’ father, about the videos and discussed the contents before airing the footage. He provided a statement in relation to the new footage:
“I call upon the world to ask ourselves is this who want to become? Is this who we want to be? Can we be better than this? Can we find a way to help guide these children by not fighting as adults because that’s where they learn this behavior from…”
“We [want to] make sure we don’t just let this get swept under the rug and act like this is normal behavior, we can never rationalize this madness.” -Jonathan Lewis Sr.
Five of the teenagers’ names were not released due to their ages. In Nevada, if a 16-year-old or 17-year-old is charged with murder, the case is automatically moved to the adult system. Judges can certify children over the age of 14 as adults for any felony offense, including murder, though the process is not automatic.
Documents obtained by 8 News Now Investigators show Neil Balint, Rancho High School assistant principal, testifying that there had been previous violent activity in the alley on Searles Avenue. Balint cited that when Lewis was carried back to the school campus staff attempted to call 911 and only reached emergency services on the second call.
Anyone with any information is encouraged to contact the LVMPD Homicide Section by phone at 702-828-3521 or by email at homicide@lvmpd.com. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or on their website at crimestoppersofnv.com.
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