LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A Las Vegas mother is suing the teenagers she said beat up her son, and she’s accusing the Clark County juvenile justice system of failing her family.
Amy Luciano told local affiliate KLAS that it started as a dispute among Palo Verde High School students; however, Luciano said it quickly escalated into a mob of teens attacking her son.
“There was a total of seven juvenile offenders that jumped Devin; only three of the juvenile offenders ended up getting charged and that was only due to my persistence,” Luciano said.
She visited 8 News Now to discuss how she’s still fighting for justice nearly two years after her son was attacked.
“He slept in my room for 30 days and every night I could hear him crying in his sleep, saying, ‘I’m sorry. Please stop kicking me,'” Luciano said.
She shared pictures of the injuries to her son’s face, who was 15 years old at the time.
8 News Now obtained a video of the fight, which happened at a house party near Palo Verde High School in the northwest Las Vegas valley on Oct. 28, 2023. She said it forced her to move him to Reno.
“It was the only place that was safe at the time because the juvenile offenders did not know where we lived,” Luciano said.
The teens were sentenced to probation. Upset with the punishment they received, and the harassment Luciano said her other three children faced from the teens after the fight, she filed a civil lawsuit last week against the students she said beat up her son. She also sued the owners of the home where the fight occurred.
“What happened was wrong and somebody’s got to pay, because Devin is never going to be the same. Not with a mild traumatic brain injury.” Luciano said.
8 News Now is not identifying the teens since they were charged as juveniles. But none spent time in prison.
Luciano advocated for them to be tried as adults, not as juveniles, since they were close to 18 at the time.
“[Expletive], that’s nothing more than an excuse. These kids’ brains are formally formed and they’re fully aware and they know exactly what they’re doing,” Luciano said. “So, why can’t the prosecutors hold these juvenile offenders accountable?”
Luciano said her son missed a full year of school due to the brain injuries he suffered. Although she moved her son back to Clark County from Reno, she has no plans of enrolling him at Palo Verde High School.
