A Nevada mother was shocked to learn that the bullies responsible for the deadly attack on her son were given reduced charges after agreeing to a plea deal.
Mellisa Ready called out the Clark County District Attorney for allowing her son’s killers to “get away with murder” after it was ruled they would no longer face prosecution as adults.
She was horrified to learn that the district attorney accepted a plea deal on Thursday that would ensure the four teens charged with the death of her 17-year-old son would avoid being jailed in an adult facility, according to court documents obtained by KLAS.
“There is no justice for my son Jonathan Lewis, that was stomped to death and murdered while 20 people stood there and did nothing more than film it and broadcast it to social media,” Ready told the outlet.
Damien Hernandez, Dontral Beaver, Gianni Robinson and Treavion Randolph were all under 18 when they were formally charged with second-degree murder and conspiracy in connection with Lewis’ death.
However, the plea deal will allow all four teens to plead guilty as juveniles to voluntary manslaughter.
“We were able to evaluate all the evidence as a whole and reach this mutually beneficial negotiation,” Robinson’s attorney, Robert Draskovich, told the outlet.
“Obviously, what occurred is a tragedy, but convicting these young men of murder would be a second tragedy, following the first.”
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
The attack happened in an alley near Lewis’ school, Rancho High School, on Nov. 1 over a set of wireless headphones that were stolen from one of the victim’s friends.
Lewis was swarmed by the thugs as the vile incident was filmed by multiple witnesses.
He was taken to hospital, where he died from blunt force trauma six days later.
Five other teens were also charged in the case, with four of them, including a 13-year-old boy, pleading guilty to manslaughter in the juvenile court system.
One teen is still awaiting sentencing, according to the outlet.
Hernandez, Beaver, Robinson and Randolph initially claimed self-defence after they were arrested, saying Lewis had thrown the first punch.
“You cannot jump on a human being’s head, stomp on him, and think that they’re going to remain alive after,” Lewis’ mother told the outlet.
“They knew he was going to die, and that’s how I feel — and they’re letting them get away with murder.”
Ready told KLAS she was blindsided by the announcement and wasn’t even notified about Thursday’s hearing.
“I was told that they were going to plead guilty to murder and that the most they would get in the adult system is two years,” Ready recounted, saying she “would’ve disagreed with the deal entirely” if she had been known it was a possibility, and still firmly believes they should be held “accountable as adults.”
“They knew that when they were stomping on my child’s head. That he was going to die as a result,” the heartbroken mother said. “They are letting them get away with murdering my child.”