LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The eight teenagers accused of murdering a 17-year-old Las Vegas student appeared in juvenile court on Wednesday.
Their identities can’t be publicly released since they are still considered juveniles under the state of Nevada.
The ages for those who appeared in Clark County Family Court range from 13 to 17, with prosecutors seeking to move the 13-year-old to adult court.
Four of the teenagers, who are between 16 to 17 years old, were fast-tracked to adult court and will appear in the Clark County Regional Justice Center on Thursday morning to face murder charges, according to the district attorney’s office.
The other four teens are between the ages of 13 to 15.
All of those who were arrested are students at Rancho High School. They’re accused of beating 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis near the high school on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
Lewis suffered life-threatening injuries and was declared brain dead on Tuesday, Nov. 7, according to investigators.
The Las Vegas Metro Police Department with assistance from the FBI arrested the eight teenagers on Tuesday.
Gloria Garcia, a public defender with Clark County, is representing some of the students.
“He doesn’t have a history before the court. So, there’s no flight risk, no anything,” Garcia said about the 13-year-old. “We would submit to the court pursuant to the age of the district court’s policy. The state is seeking certification for the youth who remain detained.”
The way it works in Nevada for the 13 to 15-year-olds in this case, which is half of the teens arrested, is prosecutors are going through the process of certifying these teens in order to move them to adult court.
Those four will have to appear again in juvenile court in December where a juvenile judge will decide if they will in fact be tried as adults.
