Left: Jonathan Lewis, 17. Lewis was killed after a mob of teenagers attacked him, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). Photo courtesy of memorial website for Lewis. Right: LVMPD homicide lieutenant Jason Johansson at a press conference on Nov. 14, 2023, announcing that eight teenagers have been arrested and charged with Lewis’ murder. YouTube screengrab KTNV.
With an investigation that is “far from over,” police in Las Vegas have announced that eight teenagers have been arrested and charged with murder in connection to the death of Jonathan Lewis, a 17-year-old high schooler who was viciously beaten by a mob of students on Nov. 1 and later died because of “non-survivable head trauma.”
That was a finding from a coroner’s office this month and those arrested are expected to be charged as adults, though they vary in age from 13 to 17 years old, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said at a Tuesday press conference. In addition to the eight teens arrested, authorities said another two students were involved as well but the police department has not yet been able to positively identify them and they are asking the public to come forward with any clips of the crime they see circulating.
Homicide lieutenant Jason Johansson said the public should not assume authorities have seen every clip nor every angle of footage depicting the moments leading up to Lewis’ death.
“For us to arrest someone for the charge of murder, we have to be right. We have to actually physically be able to put that person there. If you watch that video, many have hoods over faces or faces obscured during the attack. Our job is to prove in court beyond a reasonable doubt that these are the people depicted in the video,” Johansson said.
Andrew Walsh, the department’s undersheriff, added that parents should not assume their own children haven’t seen the footage.
Parents shouldn’t put their “heads in the sand,” he said.
“As a parent and member of this community, the video that’s out there … it is extremely disturbing and should be a reminder to all of us to have those difficult conversations with our children and remind them their actions have consequences … lasting consequences [and] life-altering consequences,” Walsh said.
While most of the teens who appear to be involved in Lewis’ beating are Black and Lewis was white, police were equally adamant when rolling out their announcement that at this time, there is no evidence a hate crime occurred.
“One thing I can assure you is if this was a hate crime, there would be someone getting arrested for charges related to it being a hate crime, ” Johansson said. “Right now I have no evidence at all that this is a hate crime. It is a murder, which in my opinion, is in and of itself a very heinous crime, but I do not have evidence of a hate crime.”
Lewis’ unconscious body was found in a back alley near Rancho High School on Nov. 1. By Nov. 7, Lewis was declared “medically brain dead.” An autopsy by the Clark County coroner’s office confirmed the cause of death was blunt force trauma and the manner of death was a homicide.
Police said Tuesday they believed Lewis got into an altercation with fellow students over a stolen pair of wireless headphones and possibly a vape pen meant for marijuana. When school let out that afternoon, the 17-year-old allegedly agreed to meet at a back alley across the street from the high school to fight, officers said.
Undersheriff Walsh acknowledged the items may not have belonged to Lewis, but a friend. The boy’s family contends on a website honoring their late son that Lewis stepped in to help “a smaller child who was being bullied.”
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Lewis’ family could not immediately be reached for comment by Law&Crime on Wednesday.
In reviewing the video of the incident, Johansson noted Lewis approached, removed some of his clothing and took a swing.
“The minute a punch is thrown, 10 subjects immediately swarm [Lewis] and begin kicking, punching and stomping on him,” Johannsson said.
Eventually, Lewis crumples “on the ground [and is] not defending himself until the point he becomes unconscious,” the homicide lieutenant added.
Police said Lewis was found in the alley and then carried back to the high school. CPR was performed and the teen was promptly taken to an area hospital where he died several days later.
Officials representing the Clark County School Police District acknowledged that the alley is a hot spot for student fighting. On the day Lewis was beaten so badly that he would eventually go “brain dead,” Chief Michael Blackeye said two campus security officers were patrolling the campus but were not patrolling the area near the alley.
“There was no information there was going to be an incident that was going to occur at the apartments next to the school,” he added.
Blackeye acknowledged that fighting off campus is “typical” in high schools in the county because of the “repercussions” students expect while on campus.
As for the suspects in custody, police said they obtained warrants and conducted searches of their residences and found clothing in the homes that were also depicted in the 14-second video police have reviewed.
All eight teenage suspects are presently booked into Clark County Juvenile Hall.
The public is encouraged to send those clips to Clark County Crime Stoppers in Nevada.
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