Four Las Vegas high school students were charged Friday as adults with second-degree murder charges for the fatal beating of their schoolmate in November, a fight that was captured on cellphone video and widely shared on the news. social networks.
Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani said in court that the indictment also charges the teens with conspiracy to commit assault, a gross misdemeanor.
The Associated Press is not naming the students because they were minors at the time of the Nov. 1 beating.
STOPPING OR STAYING ON LAS VEGAS BRIDGES IS NOW THOUGHT WITH JAIL
So far, nine students have been arrested in connection with the attack that left 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis Jr. dead. Giordani said the other students are awaiting separate hearings.
According to Las Vegas police, 10 students between the ages of 13 and 17 participated in the beating that unfolded after school in an alley around the corner from Rancho High School. The police department said Friday that investigators are still searching for the 10th suspect.
Students, faculty and staff later had to deal with how the conflict escalated over a stolen vaporizer and a pair of wireless headphones.
A memorial to Jonathan Lewis Jr. is seen here, installed in an alley near Rancho High School in east Las Vegas, on Nov. 21, 2023. Lewis Jr. was beaten to death by ten classmates, four of whom who are now being accused. as adults charged with second-degree murder. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil, File)
Police said Lewis walked to the alley with his friend after school, but they don't believe he was the target.
Lt. Jason Johansson said cell phone video showed Lewis taking off his shirt to prepare for the fight, then the 10 students “immediately surround him, throw him to the ground and begin kicking, punching and stomping on him.”
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After the fight, according to Johannson, a person in the area found Lewis severely beaten and unconscious and took him back to campus, where school staff called 911 and tried to help him.
In Nevada, a teenager facing a murder charge can be charged as an adult if he or she was 13 or older at the time of the alleged crime.
