Jesus Ayala and Jzamir Keys, two Las Vegas teens arrested last month for intentionally running over retired police chief Andreas Probst during an August crime spree, appeared in court on Tuesday to learn when their trial will begin. During the proceedings, the alleged killers, who are both being tried as adults, were seen smiling, laughing, and flashing obscene gestures at the victim’s family despite the severity of their charges.
As Valuetainment reported at the time of their arrest, Jzamir Keys, 16, and Jesus Ayala, 18, have been indicted for murder, attempted murder, grand larceny, and other charges related to the August 14 crime spree that led to the hit-and-run death of 64-year-old Andreas Probst.
A disturbing cellphone video of the August 14 incident shows two individuals believed to be Ayala and Keys ramming a stolen car into another vehicle and running it off the road, then speeding toward a man riding a bicycle.
“Ready?” asks the driver, identified as Ayala, who was 17 at the time of the incident.
“Yeah, yeah, get his ass!” urges Keys from the passenger seat, where he was filming the pair’s activities.
The car then smashes into the cyclist from behind, sending him flying over the car and shattering the windshield. He then falls motionless to the ground alongside his bike as the laughing teens speed away, leaving him for dead. “Damn, that n***a got knocked out!” the passenger says, at the same time the driver yells out “Oh s***, we need to get out of here.”
WARNING: This unedited footage may be disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.
Video of the deadly crash was immediately posted to social media by the suspects.
The victim, Andreas Probst, was a 35-year veteran of the police force in Bell, California who had retired to Las Vegas in 2009. Probst was taken to a nearby hospital where he died of his injuries.
Keys and Ayala stole an additional three cars that day and carried out a similar hit-and-run on a 72-year-old man who survived.
Ayala was arrested within 24 hours, but Keys went unidentified for five weeks until a local student brought the video to a school resource officer.
After making their initial court appearance in late September, the suspects returned to the Clark County court on Tuesday to learn their trial date. As soon as they were seated, Keys and Ayala began covering their faces in front of cameras while smiling and laughing, then flipped a middle finger towards where the Probst family was seated.
Ayala’s public defender, attorney David Westbrook, was also spotted laughing alongside his client. The defendants’ laughter continued as they were led shackled out of the room when the proceedings concluded.
The teens’ court appearance coincided with the release of police body camera footage taken just after Ayala’s arrest. The footage confirmed what prosecutors had previously reported, showing that Ayala (who was bizarrely recorded as a “White male” in processing paperwork) expected a “slap on the wrist” for his crimes.
“You think this juvenile s**t is gonna do something?” he asked. “I’ll be out in 30 days, I’ll bet you.”
Ayala also asked police if his exploits were “gonna come out on the news.”
“It won’t make your mama proud,” the officer replied.
Contrary to Ayala’s expectations at the time, the two teenagers face 20 years to life in prison if convicted. However, neither is eligible for the death penalty as both were under 18 at the time of the murder.
“They really have no remorse. It’s just a game to them. They really don’t care if anyone else lives or dies; they don’t care about themselves, if they live or die, and that can just be shown through their own actions,” Taylor Probst, the victim’s daughter vented to reporters outside the courtroom. “How can you sit there after taking a man’s life, and act like such an entitled prick?”
“They were just trying to mad-dog us and intimidate us, which didn’t work,” she continued.
Jesus Ayala and Jzamir Keys have both pled not guilty and will stand trial beginning September 16, 2024.
Fatherless is destroying America.
Here’s how America ranks amongst countries around the world in single parent households:
China 3%
India 4%
World average 7%
🇺🇸 23% 👀Kids need someone in their lives they fear, love & respect.
Fathers do that!
pic.twitter.com/KBFuRwrkmr— Patrick Bet-David (@patrickbetdavid) October 26, 2023
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