The death of a homeless man led to laughter on the streets of Las Vegas and — eventually — charges against a man who instigated and filmed the stunt that led to the man’s death.
On June 20, Keonte Jones, 28, of Las Vegas, interacted with Larry Coner, 55, who had approached Jones looking for money, according to KSNV-TV.
Jones said he would give Coner $6 if Coner performed a backflip.
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Jones then decided to film what came next on Facebook live. The video was eventually shared with the police by Coner’s family.
WARNING: The following video contains graphic content and language that some viewers will find offensive.
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Coner successfully performed two cartwheels but failed to perform the backflip.
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As Coner lay on the ground, Jones and some other bystanders laughed.
“He sleep! He sleep!” Jones said.
“He hit a backflip and went to sleep,” he went on.
Jones eventually approached Coner and said, “Here, here, take your $6.”
During the entirety of the video, Jones makes no attempt to help the man. Neither does anyone else until an older woman arrives and appears to call 911.
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Throughout the video, as Coner is either motionless or barely moving on the ground, Jones talks about how entertaining the incident has been.
“I knew it was gonna be antics though,” he said, saying that watching Coner injure himself “was funny, bro.”
Despite Jones telling bystanders not to call an ambulance, there was a clear disagreement among some in the crowd.
An ambulance eventually arrived and took Coner away.
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He was taken to University Medical Center and died on June 30 due to an injury to his spine.
The #LVMPD arrested a man who paid for a dangerous stunt that led to a homeless man’s death. Caution: the video of this incident is disturbing.https://t.co/PxkzfjGpBF pic.twitter.com/qzdiS7ug3P
— LVMPD (@LVMPD) July 16, 2020
After police viewed the video, which was shown to them by a member of Coner’s family, Jones was charged. He has since posted bail and was released from the Clark County Detention Center, according to the Las Vegas Sun.
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