Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
NewsNation
Judge accepts plea deals for 4 teens accused of killing classmate
By Stephanie OvertonJoshua Peguero,
9 hours ago
LAS VEGAS ( KLAS ) — A Nevada judge accepted the plea deal agreement for several Las Vegas teens accused of killing their high school classmate Tuesday morning.
Judge Linda Marquis accepted the plea deal for the four teens who were in adult court, and then were transferred to juvenile court, in the case of Jonathan Lewis’s death.
Damien Hernandez, Dontral Beaver, Gianni Robinson, and Treavion Randolph all pleaded guilty to voluntarily manslaughter. As a result of the plea, their criminal juvenile records will be sealed.
The four teens were initially charged as adults with murder and conspiracy.
The court initially declined to accept the plea because “the court wanted to ensure that any potential jurisdictional issues are addressed in the plea,” according to the Clark County District Attorney’s office. Those issues centered around sending the criminal case from the adult court system to the juvenile system.
A memorial for Jonathan Lewis Jr. is set up in an alleyway near Rancho High School in eastern Las Vegas, on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Ty O’Neil, File)
Jonathan Lewis’s mother, Mellisa Ready, called the agreement disgusting and broke down in court Tuesday morning.
Ready previously criticized the plea agreement , claiming she wasn’t notified of the deal when the teens initially accepted it on Aug. 1.
“I would’ve disagreed with the deal entirely. They should be accountable as adults – they made an adult choice,” she said. “They knew that when they were stomping on my child’s head. That he was going to die as a result.”
The district attorney’s office put out a statement following the criticism , saying it stood by the negotiation, claiming it was “accurately conveyed to her…, prior to the court proceeding.”
There is no sentence range for the teens as part of the plea agreement, according to defense attorney Robert Draskovich. It is up to a judge to decide what the sentencing is for each teen.
Draskovich is representing Robinson. He said he is going to petition the judge to immediately release his client, since he has been in custody since his arrest in November of 2023.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Comments / 0