Four teenagers accused of fatally beating a classmate last year in Las Vegas have agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter, which will keep them from being tried as adults, attorneys confirmed Thursday.
Nine students were arrested in connection with the Nov. 1, 2023, melee involving a large group of people near Rancho High School, in which 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis was critically injured and later died.
Attorney Robert Draskovich represents one of the four teens charged in the beating. Draskovich said his client agreed to plead guilty in a deal that would crumble if one of the defendants involved changes their plea.
Should any of them back out of the deal, then all four would again be charged in adult court, Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani said.
In Nevada, a teenager facing a murder charge can be charged as an adult if they were 13 or older when the crime occurred. The teens were initially charged as adults with second-degree murder and conspiracy.
“It’s a tragedy all the way around,” said Draskovich, whose client is now 18 but was a minor when the incident occurred.
The plea represents a civil conviction, which will be expunged from the defendants’ records when they turn 21, Draskovich said.
At least some of the deadly brawl was recorded and shared on social media.
A video reviewed by NBC News showed a person taking a swing at someone. That person was then swarmed by a group of teens. The fight erupted over stolen headphones and possibly a stolen marijuana vape pen, police had said.
Lewis was beaten unconscious and died less than a week later.
Lewis’ father had called his son a “hero” on a memorial website. He said his son died defending his friend, who was being bullied.
Mellisa Ready, Lewis’ mother, told NBC affiliate KMCC of Las Vegas on Thursday that she was “dumbfounded” and “in shock” by the plea agreement. She said that she had heard from the Clark County District Attorney’s office that the teens were going to plead guilty to murder in the adult court system.
