‘Extreme and heinous’: Defendant in fatal Rancho HS beating sentenced

A judge on Monday ordered a teen to be sent to a juvenile detention facility for the fatal beating of a Rancho High School student.

Gianni Robinson, 17, was one of four defendants who previously admitted to manslaughter for the death of 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis, who was attacked outside the school on Nov. 1 by teens who stomped, kicked and punched him in an attack captured on video.

Treavion Randolph, 17, Dontral Beaver, 17, Damien Hernandez, 18, and Robinson previously faced second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit battery charges in adult court, but had their cases transferred to juvenile court in a deal announced in August.

The other defendants were sent to a correctional facility on Sept. 16.

Juvenile Court Judge Linda Marquis ordered Robinson to be committed to the Department of Child and Family Services, with conditions that include participating in mentoring and gang intervention programs, writing an apology note, undergoing counseling and paying restitution.

Children adjudicated guilty in the juvenile court system are not sentenced to serve a set amount of time. They get released after completing rehabilitation programs while in custody.

“They destroyed my life’s biggest accomplishment as if he was nothing more than a piece of trash,” said Lewis’ mother, Mellisa Ready, who showed the court a photo of her son in the hospital.

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

Ready has previously criticized the plea deal.

“There’s literally no one being held accountable with true punishment for my son’s murder,” she told the Review-Journal after the teens entered their pleas. “It’s disgusting.”

Robinson also made a brief statement to the court.

“Your honor, I’m sorry, and I will follow everything the court orders,” he said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Kimberly Adams stressed the severity of the case.

“As the court is well aware, the facts of this case are extreme and heinous,” she said. “This is approximately 10 juveniles beating one helpless victim, ultimately beating him to death.”

Robert Draskovich, Robinson’s attorney, said afterward that he is happy to have the case resolved. His client looks forward to putting the case behind him, he said.

Review-Journal photographer Rachel Aston contributed to this report.