More teens sent to juvenile detention for fatal beating of Rancho student

A Family Court judge ordered three more teens to be sent to a correctional facility on Monday for the fatal beating of a 17-year-old Rancho High School student.

Treavion Randolph, 17, Dontral Beaver, 17, Damien Hernandez, 18, and Gianni Robinson, 17, have admitted to manslaughter in the death of Jonathan Lewis, who was attacked by a group of teens near the high school on Nov. 1. They were previously facing second-degree murder and conspiracy charges in adult court, but their cases were transferred to juvenile court as part of a deal announced last month.

During a brief hearing on Monday, Family Court Judge Linda Marquis ordered Randolph, Beaver and Hernandez to spend an undetermined length of incarceration in a juvenile detention center. Children adjudicated guilty in the juvenile court system are not sentenced to serve a set amount of time, but they are expected to be released after completing rehabilitation programs while in custody.

The judge ordered the defendants to go through counseling and other programs while in the detention center.

A similar hearing for Robinson will be held at a future date because of scheduling conflicts.

Lewis’ mother, Mellisa Ready, held up a photo Monday of her son in the hospital, showing it to the judge and the three defendants.

“I think the world needs to see what these students did to my baby,” Ready said.

She has previously spoken out against the plea deal that allowed the defendants to admit to guilt in juvenile court.

Her brief statements on Monday instead focused on the impact of her son’s death.

“My now 5-year-old son will one day see the video of his big brother being beaten to death,” Ready said, addressing the defendants. “We will live with these heartbreaking and devastating videos forever. You could never undo the damage that you have done. Jonathan is forever going to be gone from our lives because of your actions.”

Investigators have said that a large group of students attacked Lewis in an alleyway near the school. The fatal beating was captured on video that showed the teens stomping, kicking and punching Lewis until he fell unconscious.

Lewis was hospitalized and died of his injuries six days later.

Surveillance footage showed that Lewis pushed a student, who was one of the teens later arrested, and then punched another student before he was swarmed by the group of teenagers. Defense attorneys have argued in court documents that Lewis’ friend, who also was attacked, was armed with a knife during the confrontation.

Nine students were arrested after Lewis was attacked. Only four of those teenagers were ever charged as adults, because of their age, but all of the defendants are now back in the juvenile court system.

Attorneys on Monday did not present any argument to the judge, because Randolph, Beaver and Hernandez’s sentence was stipulated in their agreement to admit guilt.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.