LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Eight suspects were arrested and will be charged with murder in connection to the death of a Las Vegas high school student.
The eight teenagers – all of them are between the age of 13 and 17, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department – are all believed to have contributed to the beating that ultimately killed Jonathan Lewis Jr.
LVMPD officers say they responded to a call on Nov. 1 of a fight in an alley near Rancho High School. Witness video shows a group of about 15 individuals ganging up on Lewis, who was lying on the ground, repeatedly punching and kicking him.
The beating began after Lewis went with a friend to confront one of the individuals in the alley who allegedly stole a pair of wireless headphones and a marijuana vape pen from the friend. According to a statement on a GoFundMe page set up by the victim's father, Lewis Jr.'s girlfriend said the friend, who was smaller in stature, was thrown in a trash can by one of the individuals in the alley. This confrontation triggered the brawl, which ended with a severely injured Lewis taken to University Medical Center and placed on life support.
He was declared brain dead on Nov. 7 and passed away the next day. An autopsy conducted Monday revealed the cause of death to be homicidal blunt force trauma.
Members of the Las Vegas police had been investigating the attack on Lewis Jr. as a potential homicide from the start due to the life threatening, and ultimately life-ending, nature of the injuries he sustained.
Jonathan Lewis Sr., who works with troubled youth, is calling for action from the community and even set up a foundation called "Team Jonathan."
He told Sinclair station KSNV in Las Vegas his solutions include working with a volunteer program with dads in schools, building a social media mentoring and safety app for troubled youth, and having conflict and trauma resolution training in schools.
"You might be able to get the parents to be able to start having some more compassion and teaching the children to be more loving and, and recognize, recognize that, you know, that we need conflict resolution," Lewis, Sr., said.
The GoFundMe he set up for his son, the proceeds of which will be split between himself and Lewis Jr.'s mother, has surpassed its goal but is still taking donations.
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The National Desk's Lenny Cohen contributed reporting
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