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A Las Vegas teen claims he was threatened by the sister of a boy involved in the death of a retired police officer and forced to withdraw from high school out of fear.
The teen testified before a grand jury last month, telling the court he was given a video of the Aug. 14 crime spree by one of the suspects, 16-year-old Jzamir Keys.
Keys is accused of sitting in the passenger seat of a stolen Hyundai Elantra, believed to be driven by then-17-year-old Jesus Ayala, and encouraging him to hit Andreas Probst, 64, while riding his bicycle.
The pair also reportedly hit a 72-year-old cyclist earlier that day.
Video shows the vehicle approaching Probst from behind. A voice is heard asking if the passenger is ‘ready’.
Jzamir Keys, 16, (left) is accused of sitting in the passenger seat of a stolen Hyundai while prompting 18-year-old Jesus Ayala (right) – who was 17 at the time – to punch retired officer Andreas Probst, 64 , while riding his bicycle
Probst was fatally shot on August 14 while cycling in northwest Las Vegas. Footage filmed by the passenger shows he was deliberately killed by the teenage driver, according to police
A teenager at Shadow Ridge High School in Las Vegas says Keys sent him the video of the crime spree on August 14, the same day it was recorded
The passenger responds, “Yeah, hit his ass,” before Probst is hit and thrown into the windshield.
The ex-cop was thrown 30 meters before landing on the pavement. Paramedics arrived and took him to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Shadow Ridge High School ninth-grader said when he saw the footage, “I was shocked.”
He added that he did not show the video to his parents or police, but officers came to his home and found the video by searching his cell phone.
Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani asked the teen if he had received any threats since the case began.
The teen says it was Keys’ sister who came up to him at school and warned, “It’s going to be bad for you.”
Court transcripts show Las Vegas police initially believed the ninth-grader was a suspect.
The 72-year-old cyclist who survived the collision during the attack also testified.
Keys is accused of filming the sick footage of the attack and telling Ayala to ‘slap his ass’
Ayala was arrested hours after he allegedly drove into Probst and told officers he wouldn’t be locked up for long
He said he started his ride around 5 a.m. and wore a helmet and an orange shirt to be visible to drivers.
He claimed he saw headlights behind him, and as the car turned into the bike lane, it drifted further and further away until it hit the curb – and the car crashed into him.
“First of all, I didn’t know they were going to hit me. I didn’t know if they were going to ask for directions or something,” he said.
‘They started blowing the horn and then they hit me. And it was louder and I thought, I was just a little surprised that I got hit and then I remembered that I was rolling.”
He stated that the crash left him with a rash and an injured left knee.
Several witnesses described finding Probst on the ground. One woman said his helmet was cracked in half.
Keys and Ayala are also accused of crashing into a car before hitting and killing Probst.
One driver testified that he was the victim of a collision, claiming that the car “came around the corner on Tenaya and almost ran into me and sideswiped me.”
Shortly afterwards he came across Probst lying in the road.
He described it as a “pretty bloody scene” and asked the woman who first found Probst if a black car had hit him, which she confirmed.
Ayala was arrested shortly after the crash. Keys escaped but was later caught
Andreas Probst, pictured here, died after being hit by the stolen car while riding his bicycle along an empty Las Vegas highway
The cyclist also called 911 after being hit and can be heard on a recording in which the operator says: ‘This car just ran me over on my bike.
“He came up behind me, I looked at him in the rearview mirror of my bike and I thought, ‘oh shit.
“I went as far to the right as I could, against the curb, he blew his horn and just kept blowing. He did it on purpose.
“My knee hurts, I just hope the police make a connection because he could have killed me.”
The two teens are accused of stealing three different cars, all Hyundai models.
Needle pliers and a screwdriver were found in one of the vehicles, according to Las Vegas Metro Fatal Detail Detective Joshua Trail.
Las Vegas Metro Police Officer Michael Johnson also testified about Ayala’s arrest.
After Probst and the other cyclist were hit, Johnson said he was given a brief description of two men involved in at least one of the crashes.
One was said to be wearing a blue ski mask, while the other was seen wearing a red ski mask.
Witnesses testified before a grand jury in late September, including a 72-year-old who was also hit while cycling
Ayala can be heard on bodycam footage telling a copy that he will “be out in 30 days” and calling the punishment “a slap on the wrist”
Keys was arrested after a police appeal for information. Both teens pleaded not guilty
A call was sent out about a stolen vehicle crashing into a tattoo parlor at Craig Road and Rancho Drive, he said.
Johnson testified that the teens began running from him as soon as he activated his lights and sirens. Ayala was taken into custody, but Keys managed to escape.
Upon his arrest, Ayala told Johnson that he would “be free in thirty days.”
Johnson said he responded, “He will likely be transferred from a juvenile facility to an adult facility within 30 days.”
Ayala then said, “It’s just a collision, it’s just a slap on the wrist,” Johnson said. The expletive-laced statement can be heard on bodycam footage of the arrest.
The teens are also accused of breaking into a home the same day to steal spray cans.
A neighbor testified that she saw the burglary while taking her daughter to school. She called 911 and tried to follow the teens, but lost them.
Medical examiner Stephanie Yagi told the court she determined Probst’s cause of death as blunt force trauma and initially ruled it an accident – before a forensic examiner showed her footage of the circumstances surrounding his death.
The manner was then changed to murder, she testified.
Probst, affectionately known as “Andy,” moved from California to Las Vegas after his retirement. The ex-agent and his wife would have celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary in September
Keys and Ayala are each charged with murder with the use of a deadly weapon, battery with the use of a deadly weapon and attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon.
Ayala, who is now 18, faces additional charges including failure to stop at the scene of an accident involving death or personal injury, leaving the scene of an accident, possession of a stolen vehicle and possession of burglary tools.
The teens pleaded not guilty at the September arraignment hearing and waived their right to a trial within 60 days.
If convicted, the maximum sentence would be life in prison, with the possibility of parole.
Under the law, the death penalty cannot be imposed on a suspect unless he or she is 18 years or older at the time the crime is committed.
Life without parole is also not an option for suspects under the age of 18.
Keys and Ayala are expected back in court on October 24.
Their victim, affectionately known as ‘Andy’, worked in law enforcement for 35 years.
He retired in 2009 as chief of police in Bell, California before moving to Las Vegas.
Probst and his wife would have celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary in September.