Jonathan Lewis: Footage shows 17-year-old Las Vegas student being fatally beaten by bullies near school

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: Investigators on Wednesday, January 24, obtained documents and a new footage that show the events leading up to and including the beating of a teenage boy in Las Vegas who later died from his injuries.

A Clark County grand jury last week indicted 16-year-old Dontral Beaver, 17-year-old Damien Hernandez, 16-year-old Treavion Randolph, and 17-year-old Gianni Robinson in connection with the death of 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis in November 2023 close to Rancho High School.

Four teenagers accused of second-degree murder at Rancho High School

The school is in the northeast of Las Vegas's downtown, close to Owens and Eastern avenues. 

The four teenagers are all accused of second-degree murder. The defendants are authorized to face charges in the adult system. Five more were awaiting adult certification as of Wednesday.

A tenth "person of interest" is still on the loose. According to the police, all ten are Rancho High School students.

A police officer told the grand jury, “[Robinson] said that he had been harassed by Jonathan before for stealing a wax pen or a marijuana vape or something to that respect and he was confronted by Jonathan and an adult female in regard to it.”

Officer went on to say, “He said nothing became of it, he proved that he didn’t have it, he showed them a bunch of money saying that hey I don’t need to steal anything, I have money on my own, and he kind of thought that was the end of it.”

A video that was presented to the grand jury depicts two student groups getting together on November 1, 2023, in an alleyway close to Rancho High School. As Lewis tries to defend himself, a group of students lunges and stomps on him.

After that, Lewis lies on the ground for a while. Lewis was then transported to the school for medical attention by a neighbor and a student, a school official informed the grand jury.

Jonathan Lewis was fatally beaten by mob

Lewis died from his wounds in the hospital a few days later. The official also informed the panel that school administrators had assisted in identifying the pupils in the videos of the beatings using Instagram and school security footage.

An officer told the grand jury that Lewis "called" to the group of students before the fatal beating, took off a sweatshirt, and started hitting a student.

As reported by KTNV Channel regarding the beating and attack by "gang of bullies," the officer stated, "And then everybody comes and he's on the ground right now and everybody's kicking, stomping, punching."

In addition, the officer informed the grand jury that Lewis' friend was carrying a knife and was allegedly "slicing and slashing everybody," despite the fact that no other witnesses reported being hurt.

Another student jumped in and told the police they felt threatened. Following the mob's attack on Lewis, a second student was captured on cell phone video fleeing as the mob attacked.

The other victim was identified by homicide detectives as Lewis' friend. Multiple blunt force injuries were listed as Lewis' cause of death. His death was declared a homicide.

Jonathan Lewis Sr, his father, had earlier expressed hope that a conversation about youth violence would be spurred by his son's passing.

Jonathan Lewis' father urges the world to find ways to guide children

Before releasing the video, 8 News Now spoke with Lewis' father, Jonathan Lewis Sr, on Wednesday to discuss the videos and their contents.

In response to the fresh video, Jonathan Lewis Sr said, “I call upon the world to ask ourselves is this who want to become? Is this who we want to be? Can we be better than this? Can we find a way to help guide these children by not fighting as adults because that’s where they learn this behavior from…”

“We [want to] make sure we don’t just let this get swept under the rug and act like this is normal behavior, we can never rationalize this madness.” 

The ages of five of the teenagers prevents the release of their names. In Nevada, a murder charge against a 16-year or 17-year-old automatically transfers the case to the adult court system.

For any felony offense—including murder—judges have the authority to certify minors over 14 as adults, though this is not a given.

Neil Balint, the assistant principal of Rancho High School, testifies in documents obtained by 8 News Now that there had previously been violent activity in the alley on Searles Avenue.

As Lewis was being carried back to the school, the school staff tried calling 911, but they didn't get through to emergency services until they made a second attempt, according to Balint.