LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis was beaten to death by a group of teens in an alley outside Rancho High School on November 1, 2023.
On Wednesday morning, Jonathan’s mother and others gathered at a rally outside the Las Vegas Municipal Courthouse to share his story.
“We are here to stand for Jonathan, and we are here to fight for justice and bring awareness,” said Jonathan’s mother, Mellisa Ready.
“I’m a wreck. I’m a wreck. Otherwise, I’m really grateful for everyone showing up here today. That warms my heart and brings me some comfort,” she said. “It helps me, it helps me, it gives me a sense of humanity that I lost the day my son died. It reminds me that people still care, that this does matter, and it should matter.”
The rally called for an end to bullying and justice for Jonathan.
“I have a 4-year-old son, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that this does not happen again in his lifetime. We need stricter laws and harsher punishments, and that’s why we’re here,” said Ready.
Nine suspects have been charged in connection to Jonathan’s murder, ages 13 to 17 at the time, and police are still searching for one more person of interest in the case.
“The justice I want to see is real punishments, real punishment,” said Ready. “Our youth and our teenagers need to understand that this type of behavior is not okay, that it isn’t going to be tolerated.”
The four 16 and 17-year-olds charged as adults were indicted by a grand jury and are due back in court in March, with a tentative trial date set for April 1. At least one of the five younger juvenile suspects in custody has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Still, Jonathan’s mother said the consequences they’re facing aren’t harsh enough.
“If you take a human being’s life, you need to be held accountable,” she said. “You then made an adult choice and should be held accountable as such.”
Copyright 2024 KVVU. All rights reserved.
