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 melee on Nov. 1 involving a large group of people near Rancho High School, in which 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis was critically injured; he later died.
Attorney Robert Draskovich, who represents one of the four teens charged in the beating, said his client agreed to plead guilty in a deal that would crumble if any of the defendants involved changed their pleas.
Should any of them back out of the deal, all four would again be charged in adult court, Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani said.
In Nevada, teenagers facing murder charges can be charged as adults if they were 13 or older when the crimes 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 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 KSNV 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.
