In a searing indictment of the justice system, the mother of Jonathan Lewis, a Las Vegas teenager brutally beaten to death by a gang of bullies, has publicly denounced the Clark County District Attorney’s decision to let the alleged killers escape adult prosecution. The plea deal, announced Thursday, has sparked outrage from Mellisa Ready, who believes this decision ensures her son’s killers “get away with murder.”
The settlement reached by the District Attorney’s office allows the four teens—Damien Hernandez, Dontral Beaver, Gianni Robinson, and Treavion Randolph—to avoid adult prison by pleading guilty to manslaughter rather than facing a murder charge. These individuals, all under 18 at the time of the crime, had originally been charged with second-degree murder in the savage attack on 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis.
Mellisa Ready’s fury is palpable. “There is no justice for my son Jonathan Lewis,” she told 8 News Now. “He was stomped to death while 20 people stood around, filming and broadcasting his murder on social media. And now, these monsters will walk away without facing real consequences.”
The tragic incident unfolded on November 1, when Lewis, a student at Rancho High School, was brutally beaten by a mob of his peers in an alley near his school. The attack was reportedly over a dispute involving stolen wireless headphones but quickly escalated into a vicious assault. Lewis succumbed to blunt force trauma six days later in the hospital.
The horrifying event was captured on multiple cell phone videos, with the police describing the attack as “void of humanity.” Despite claims from the accused that they acted in self-defense and that Lewis had thrown the first punch, the brutal nature of the assault left little doubt about the intent of the attackers.
In a bizarre twist, the teens’ defense attorney, Robert Draskovich, attempted to downplay the situation. “Convicting these young men of murder would be a second tragedy,” he argued. “We reached this plea deal after evaluating all the evidence.”
Ready’s outrage is further fueled by the fact that she was blindsided by the plea deal. “I was not notified about the hearing,” she revealed. “I was told that if they pleaded guilty, the most they would get is two years in the adult system. I would have vehemently opposed this deal if I had been informed.”
The plea deal means the four alleged killers will now face juvenile sentencing, with their punishment significantly reduced. This decision has only intensified the outcry from those who feel that leniency is inappropriate for such a heinous crime. “They knew he was going to die,” Ready asserted. “And now, they are being allowed to escape real justice.”
In addition to the four teens involved in the plea deal, five others were charged, including a 13-year-old boy who has also pleaded guilty to manslaughter in juvenile court. One remaining teen is still awaiting sentencing, further complicating the case and leaving the community grappling with questions about justice and accountability.
As the legal proceedings continue, the public remains divided on the adequacy of the legal system’s response to this tragic case. Ready’s impassioned pleas highlight the growing frustration over what many perceive as a lenient approach to serious criminal behavior.
