Eight teens were arrested and charged with murder in the “senseless beating” of 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis Jr. as authorities revealed Tuesday the after-school fight in Las Vegas started over stolen headphones.
The eight suspects were taken into custody and booked in juvenile hall after the disturbing footage of the vicious beatdown spread across social media in recent days, the Las Vegas Metro Police Department said in a press conference.
Lewis died on Nov. 7 — less than a week after he was punched and kicked on the ground in a back alley near Rancho High School.
His cause of death was blunt force trauma and classified as a homicide, authorities said during the press conference streamed by the Las Vegas Review Journal.
The arrested teens, ranging from ages 13 to 17 and Rancho High School students, were quickly identified from the graphic video, police said.
Two more unidentified suspects are still being sought.
None of the arrested teens were named by police because of their ages.
The initial fight on Nov. 1 between Lewis and an unnamed peer was over stolen wireless headphones and possibly a stolen vape pen stemming from incidents earlier in the week, said Las Vegas Homicide Lt. Jason Johansson.
The items were stolen either from Lewis or one of Lewis’ friends, police said.
The victim’s father, also named Jonathan Lewis, has previously said Lewis was standing up for one of his smaller friends before the fatal melee.
“I just love my children with all my heart, and it’s just unimaginable that we could ever come to this point,” Lewis’ father previously told 8 News Now.
After the first punch was thrown between Lewis and his peer, a mob of students swarmed him and pushed him to the ground where they continued their assault, according to footage posted online.
Johansson called the brutal attack “very void of humanity” and “heinous.”
He stressed police do not have evidence the beating was a hate crime in response to speculation the attack involved a racial component.
The investigation is “far from over,” as Las Vegas police are seeking the public’s help in identifying other assailants, Undersheriff Andrew Walsh said.
