Homeless man baited into deadly backflip as man filmed, laughed, Las Vegas police say
A Las Vegas man is behind bars after he was accused of livestreaming a dangerous stunt that cost a homeless man his life.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police arrested 28-year-old Keonte Jones on a felony charge of willful disregard of a person’s safety, the department announced in a news release Wednesday. The charges stem from a June 20 incident when police say Jones goaded 55-year-old Larry Coner into performing a backflip for $6.
Coner, whose family says he had a history of mental illness, was known to panhandle and asked Jones for money, KSNV reported.
Jones agreed, but only if the homeless man performed a flip as he filmed on Facebook Live, according to the news station.
Coner did the stunt and lay motionless on the concrete after falling on his neck.
WARNING: This video contains racial slurs and graphic content.
“As Coner landed on his neck and lay dying ... a group of bystanders looked on and laughed,” Las Vegas police said. “Jones continued laughing and filming Coner for almost 10 minutes while telling onlookers not to call medical.”
Emergency responders eventually arrived and rushed the victim to University Medical Center with a “serious spinal injury,” according to the release. Coner died June 30 as a result of his injuries, police say.
His family decried Jones’ actions, remembering their loved one as a doting father who loved his family.
“How can you not have human compassion and compassion for another human being?” Coner’s sister, who asked to remain unnamed, told KSNV.
Coner’s family has since launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover funeral expenses.
Jones was booked into the Clark County Detention Center. A search of the county’s jail records didn’t return any results for his name as of Thursday.
Police are asking anyone with information on the incident to contact the Bolden Area Command Investigative Section at (702)-828-3347.
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 10:32 AM.