LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – On Monday, a Clark County juvenile justice judge declined to accept a plea agreement for several Las Vegas teens accused of murdering their high school classmate.
Damien Hernandez, Dontral Beaver, Gianni Robinson, and Treavion Randolph, all appeared in juvenile court.
The court declined to accept the plea because “the court wanted to ensure that any potential jurisdictional issues are addressed in the plea,” according to the Clark County District Attorney’s office. Those issues centered around sending the criminal case from the adult court system to the juvenile system.
On Aug. 1, all four former Rancho High School students accepted a plea deal with the district attorney’s office that allowed them to plead guilty as juveniles to voluntary manslaughter.
The four teens were part of nine students arrested last November accused of killing Jonathan Lewis, 17, outside of Rancho High School. They were formally charged with murder in January.
‘No justice for my son,’ Mother criticizes plea deal for teens
Lewis’ mother Mellisa Ready previously criticized the plea agreement, claiming she wasn’t notified of the deal.
“I would’ve disagreed with the deal entirely. They should be accountable as adults – they made an adult choice,” she said. “They knew that when they were stomping on my child’s head. That he was going to die as a result.”
The district attorney’s office defended the plea deal saying:
“While the District Attorney’s Office acknowledges the pain the victim’s mother is going through as she mourns the loss of her son, the negotiation was accurately conveyed to her last week, prior to the court proceeding. The conversation was witnessed by multiple DA personnel.”
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