Las Vegas teens plead guilty to fatally beating classmate

Four Nevada teens charged with second-degree murder took a plea deal on Tuesday in the death of Las Vegas teen Jonathan Lewis Jr., according to a report by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The underage suspects pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter charges instead of being tried as adults for the second-degree murder charges they received in January 2024. The four will now be sentenced in Clark County’s juvenile court system for an undetermined amount of time.

How and why was Lewis killed? Lewis and one of his friends met with the teens in November 2023 in an alley near Rancho High School over a vape pen and wireless earbuds allegedly stolen from Lewis’ friends. Cellphone footage showed 17-year-old Lewis initially engaging with one subject before nine more people joined the fight, Homicide Lt. Jason Johansson said at a November press conference. The group of ten pinned Lewis to the ground to beat, punch, and kick him until he lay unconscious, Johansson said. Lewis spent six days in the hospital on life support before doctors declared him brain dead.

Video of the beating went viral on social media, leading police to arrest nine of the aggressors, with minors aged 13 to 17. Four others involved have already admitted to voluntary manslaughter, and another’s case is pending a mental health evaluation in the juvenile court system, according to local reporting.