Two teens accused of murdering a cyclist and former California police chief appeared to laugh, smirk, and make obscene gestures at the victim’s family in court in Las Vegas on Oct. 24.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, 18-year-old Jesus Ayala and 16-year-old Jzamir Keys are charged with the hit-and-run murder of Andreas Probst on Aug. 14. The pair face charges of murder, attempted murder, failure to stop at the scene of a crash, battery, residential burglary, grand theft of a vehicle, and possession of a stolen vehicle.
They pleaded not guilty to all charges in their court appearance.
Keys, in particular, is accused of filming the incident on camera while the two laughed as they intentionally ran over Probst. Allegedly, the pair had committed a similar crime earlier that morning, as well as crashing into another car just before hitting Probst.
In court, Probst’s widow, Crystal, and her daughter, Taylor, say that the pair flipped them off in an attempt to intimidate them. Taylor told the outlet, “How can you sit there after taking a man’s life and act like such an entitled p——?”
Crystal, meanwhile, wore the smartwatch her husband was wearing when he was killed, saying that “it reminds me he’s here with me in the courthouse,” she said. The pair plan to keep attending court dates to keep the case in the public’s mind. The trial is set to start Sept. 16, 2024.
Two teens accused of intentionally running down a 64-year-old retired police chief while he was riding his bike in Las Vegas were seen in court flipping off the family and trying to intimidate them.https://t.co/DnaJCxNoWX pic.twitter.com/DtAy40GvNu
— The National Desk (@TND) October 25, 2023
The defense team, however, is worried that the case is getting too much outside attention from the media and not enough communication from the prosecution team.
“I requested to be informed of the time and the location of the grand jury proceedings so that my client can make an informed decision about whether or not he wished to testify, I also requested certain discoveries so that I could actually give specific examples of exculpatory evidence I wanted the state to produce,” Ayala’s public defender, David Westbrook said. “I received no communication whatsoever from the state.”
While the two are being tried as adults, according to Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, the pair has some legal protections.
“Both these juveniles are presumed innocent at this point. It is a burden that the state has to prove that they’re guilty beyond a reasonable doubt,” Wolfson said. “If they’re found guilty of first-degree murder, then they are looking at a life sentence with parole eligibility after 20 years.”
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