Two men from Las Vegas, linked to a shocking incident in August 2023 where a stolen vehicle was used to deliberately strike and kill a retired California police chief, have now been sentenced.
In October, Jesus Ayala, 20, and Jzamir Keys, 18, entered separate guilty plea agreements.
Ayala, who was 17 during the incident, received a sentence of 20 years to life in prison. Keys, 16 at the time, was sentenced to 18 years to life. Ayala, who was identified as the driver, also received an additional sentence of two to 10 years for battery, as reported by The New York Post.
“The Probst family not only has to endure the fact that he was killed in such a manner, but they also had to see what their loved one went through, which is an entirely different level of suffering,” Judge Jacqueline Bluth remarked, according to KTNV. “There is no justification for your actions and the immense pain and damage you have caused.”
Retired police chief Andreas Probst lost his life on August 14, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada, following an intentional hit-and-run, as confirmed by authorities.
Before the sentencing, two of Probst’s children had an opportunity to address the court, sharing their perspectives and emotions.
“I can’t help to think that maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation if the defendants had one parent like my father,” Michael Probst said, according to KTNV. “The moment I learned of his death, all I could do was scream and yell. It felt like my heart was just torn into pieces. Our family is forever changed, and the emotional trauma will forever haunt us.”
The retired top cop’s daughter, Taylor, said that Ayala and Keys took away her father’s chance to walk her down the aisle.
Jzamir Keys is seen in court for his sentencing in the hit-and-run murder of retired California police chief Andreas Probst. (KVVU)
“He’ll never have the opportunity to walk his little girl down the aisle and give her away. He’ll never have the opportunity to hold his first grandchildren. And that’s because it was stolen from him,” she said, according to the Post.
Probst’s widow, Crystal, expressed her heartbreak, saying that Ayala and Keys “made a choice and that choice destroyed my family.”
“Andy was stolen from me in an act so cruel, so deliberate that it not only shattered my heart, but the heart of everybody who loved him… Losing him did not just break my heart, it broke the foundation of my life,” the widow said, according to KTNV.
Jesus Ayala is seen in court for his sentencing in the hit-and-run murder of retired California police chief Andreas Probst. (KVVU)
Ayala and Keys chose not to address the court when given the opportunity.
Probst was riding his bicycle on Aug. 14, 2023, when video showed he was struck from behind and was left fatally injured on the side of the road.
In the video of the hit-and-run, the driver asks, “Ready?” as the giggling passenger records the collision on his iPhone.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, hit his a–,” he tells the driver, who then veers the Hyundai Elantra into the bike lane behind Probst, who is wearing a red shirt and shorts as he pedals. The video then showed the cyclist, later identified as Probst, rolling to a stop on the side of the road.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) learned of the video, which Keys allegedly shared with friends on Instagram, on Aug. 29, 2023. In a September 2023 statement, LVMP noted that the alleged assailants could be heard laughing in the clip as they fled the scene.
During his arrest, Ayala showed no remorse and bragged that he would get a “slap on the wrist,” according to an incident report obtained by Fox News Digital.
Ayala and Keys are accused of hitting and injuring a 72-year-old bicyclist, who survived, before they allegedly struck and killed Probst, according to the Post, which cited prosecutors.
