Sun file
The exterior of Rancho High School is shown in this Jan. 27, 2019, file photo. Eight people, all between the ages of 13 and 17 and students at Rancho, face murder charges in the Nov. 1, 2023, beating death of 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis, Metro Police said.
Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023 | 2 a.m.
An online fundraiser set up by the father of a Las Vegas teen who died after being beaten by a mob Nov. 1 near Rancho High School is exceeding its goal by tens of thousands of dollars.
And donors to the fund are sharing their stories of their gratitude to 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis for standing up to bullies, which his father said he did before the attack.
“I grew up in Las Vegas and I was bullied in Jr. High & High School but no one actually ever hurt me. Just threats that scared me and I spent a lot of time being afraid. I’m so sorry for your loss! This is horrible and everyone involved should be,” wrote Aleta Mottet, who donated $20 to the GoFundMe being run by the boy’s father, who is also named Jonathan Lewis. It was one of close to 2,000 donations contributing $97,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.
“Jonathan sounds like an incredible young guy, there are few who stand up to bullies,” wrote Nuala Brady, who gave $100. “I cannot imagine (your) loss, my condolences.”
“Thank you for raising a hero and being that example that so many children need these days,” wrote Marissa Hurst, who gave $5. “I pray that his story will live on and show others to have courage and always stand up for what is right. God bless you all! Your child is an absolute inspiration.”
Lewis’ father wrote on the GoFundMe page that his son confronted the group when they stole something from one of his friends, a smaller boy whom the group also threw in a trash can.
The elder Jonathan Lewis said his son died Nov. 7 after being on life support.
“Although our hearts are broken and this tragedy is absolutely absurd madness, we want to focus on the legacy of our son. Jonathan was a loving, giving, kind, fierce young man who loved community and caring for others,” his father wrote. “This horrific tragedy is reflective of the divisive, conflict based, uncaring state that our society and humanity is currently facing with how we interact with our community. Empathy and love are great strengths and cowardly violence is pathetic.”
Funds raised will go toward the “Team Jonathan” foundation, which the family is setting up to work with movements that have already been involved in youth violence and teach love, healing and unity.
Metro Police, which is handling the investigation, Tuesday afternoon announced the arrest of eight people, all between the ages of 13 and 17 and students at Rancho High School, on murder charges with two other unidentified teens still being sought.
Metro Lt. Jason Johansson, in a news briefing, said police investigators learned that Lewis was standing up for a friend who was challenged to an after-school fight over a pair of wireless earbuds and a marijuana vape pipe. When the friend went into an alley to fight another student over the thefts, Lewis joined him. Video, he said, shows Lewis taking off his shirt and the moment a punch was thrown 10 others started kicking, punching and stomping Lewis, who did not defend himself.
Lewis was beaten unconscious, and passerby carried him to the school from the nearby alleyway, Johansson said, which is when police were called.
Lewis was taken to University Medical Center with life-threatening injuries; Metro’s Homicide section took over the case because of the boy’s substantial injuries, police said.
Confirmation of the younger Lewis’ death was first made by his father. Metro said an autopsy by the Clark County coroner’s office was completed Monday. The cause of death was listed as blunt-force trauma homicide, Johansson said.
Johansson said investigators upon seeing videos of the fight and with the help of Rancho officials quickly identified eight of the 10 subjects involved in the beating. The eight suspects were arrested in a sweep Tuesday morning with Metro Police and FBI agents conducting the apprehension raids.
Those arrested have been booked into Clark County Juvenile Detention. The Clark County district attorney will determine whether to certify them as adults.
Metro was expected to release photos of the two suspects that remain at-large, and is asking for the public’s help in identifying them. Johansson also asked that anyone possessing or knowing about any other videos of the incident to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
Police also urged families to use this incident as a teaching moment with their children.
“The (video) is extremely distributing,” Undersheriff Andrew Walsh said. “It’s a reminder to have difficult conversations with your children to remind them their actions have lasting consequences.”
Added Johansson, “People need to know right from wrong, and this act was heinous.”
The Clark County School District said it was cooperating with the investigation.
“We all must come together as a community to address the needs of our students so disagreements are resolved through dialogue rather than violence,” the district said in a statement.
One viral video of the incident shows a group of teens attacking a person on the ground, pressed against a chain link fence in an alley. The victim is difficult to see through the crowd. The video has spread nationally on social media, with pundits and commenters weighing in on the races of the victim and assailants. Lewis was white; at least some of his attackers appear to be Black.
Lewis’ father condemned violence, and he condemned racism. He posted a screenshot of an email he sent to GoFundMe asking for racist comments to be removed.
“We absolutely condemn racism and racist comments… (it’s) disrespectful to our son’s memory to say that this was a racist attack,” he said. “At this age young men know the difference between right and wrong, but they have not fully developed ideology and complex sociological capabilities.”
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