LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The teenager who police say intentionally struck and killed a retired police chief in Las Vegas said he would get a “slap on the wrist” after he was taken into custody, NewsNation affiliate KLAS has learned.
Jesus Ayala, 17 at the time, appeared to show no remorse while being taken into custody. Ayala, now 18, faces 18 counts — including murder — and has a lengthy criminal history in the juvenile system.
Ayala made comments to police after he was taken into custody:
“You think this juvenile (expletive) is gonna do some (expletive)? I’ll be out in 30 days, I’ll bet you.”
“It’s just ah, (expletive) ah, hit-and-run — slap on the wrist.”
Officers had not yet mentioned a hit-and-run to Ayala at that point in their conversation with him, sources said. They said he was being booked for a warrant and obstructing a peace officer.
Ayala’s comments were caught on a police body camera.
Police obtained Ayala’s cell phone and found a video of Andy Probst, 64, being fatally struck, along with a short clip showing another bicyclist being struck by a Kia Soul. The video had been recorded by Ayala, indicating that he was the passenger.
In the video, the sound of a car horn is heard, along with a voice saying “bump him” repeatedly. A cyclist riding on the far right side of the street can be seen wearing an orange shirt. Both suspects are heard laughing, along with the sound of the engine accelerating. That victim, a 72-year-old man, survived.
Homicide detectives received information that the passenger in the crash that killed Probst, identified by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officials as Jzamir Keys, 16, was in a fight on Sept. 14. Video of that incident was recorded and police said that his white tennis shoes matched the video from the Aug. 14 crime spree.
Keys recorded video as Probst was apparently intentionally struck and killed on Aug. 14. The collision followed an alleged crime spree that included at least three car thefts and three hit-and-runs. The teens are seen apparently striking another car on the road in the video.
The stolen car that Ayala and Keys allegedly used to hit Probst was found ditched near Craig Road and Jones Boulevard — less than 10 minutes from the crash site, sources told KLAS.
The stolen vehicle was located with blood on its windshield, sources said.
In the hours after Probst’s death, the teenagers allegedly stole two more cars in the area of Lake Mead Boulevard and Torrey Pines Drive, sources said. About an hour after allegedly hitting and killing Probst, the teenagers took the two stolen cars and crashed them into each other near a shopping plaza at Lake Mead and Rainbow boulevards, sources said.
Keys faces three charges, including murder. Both teens appeared in adult court for the first time Thursday. David Westbrook, a Clark County public defender, represented Ayala. Keys is expected to be appointed a public defender.
They are next due in court Sept. 26, when the issue of bail is likely to be addressed. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said the teen suspects should remain in custody.
“The determination of whether somebody should remain in custody is based upon whether they’re a flight risk or a danger to the community,” Wolfson said. “I believe they’re potentially both. They have certainly proved that they are dangerous.”
As of Thursday, the teenagers are being held in the Clark County Detention Center in Downtown Las Vegas. In Nevada, a person facing a murder charge who is 16 or 17 years old is automatically moved from the juvenile system to the adult criminal justice system.
As KLAS reported in August, police did not have enough evidence in the weeks after the crash to charge Ayala with murder since the video did not surface for two weeks.