Las Vegas Metro Police Department Keonte Jones mugshot.
A Las Vegas man has been arrested after provoking a homeless man into doing a stunt that caused his death. According to NBC Las Vegas, 55-year-old Larry Coner, who was homeless and mentally ill, approached Keonte Jones, 28, and asked for a few dollars on June 20. Jones told Coner he would give him $6 if he did a backflip. While attempting to do the backflip, Coner landed on his neck and became unresponsive. After being taken to the hospital, Coner died 10 days later.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Jones Livestreamed Coner on Facebook
After Jones asked Coner to do the stunt, he began to broadcast via Facebook Live, NBC Las Vegas reported. In the video, Coner does two cartwheels, and when he tries to do the backflip, he lands on his neck and does not move again. Jones continues to laugh and say how funny Coner’s actions were.
“He hit a backflip and went to sleep,” he says in the video.
Jones continues to tease Coner and laugh as Coner lays motionless and in need of medical attention. Jones stands over him and says, “Here, here, take your $6.” He says how humorous he thinks the situation is, saying, “Bro, it’s so funny,” and bystanders laugh as well. The video is over 10 minutes long.
At one point in the video, he tells bystanders not to call an ambulance. One woman interjects and calls 911 anyway.
Coner was taken to the University Medical Center and died 10 days later, on June 30, of a spinal injury, the Las Vegas Sun reported.
2. Jones Was Arrested on July 14
According to a news release from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Jones was arrested and taken to the Clark County Detention Center and charged with one felony count of willful disregard of a person’s safety. He has been released on bail and will appear in court on September 14, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal. According to the Las Vegas Defense Group page, Jones faces one to five years in prison.
Police investigated the incident after Coner’s family brought the video to their attention, ABC Las Vegas reported.
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.
t.co/PxkzfjGpBF
3. Coner’s Sister Said He Wanted Her to Help Him Move Away From Las Vegas
Coner’s sister, Coressia Williams, expressed her grief over her brother’s death in a Facebook post in which she also shared the video of her brother’s final moments.
“I cry everyday,” she wrote. “Sometimes I can’t keep my food down.”
Williams added that during one of their last conversations, Coner pleaded for her to help him leave Las Vegas.
“Our last conversation you said CANDY PLEASE COME GET ME,” she said.
In a post in a “Black Lives Matter Las Vegas” Facebook group, Williams said that both of their parents have passed away and that Coner’s son, Larry Coner Jr., also preceded him in death.
4. Williams Said Coner Was Released From the Hospital Earlier That Day
In another Facebook post, Williams wrote that Coner was struggling with mental illness and drug addiction and had just been released from North Vista Hospital. When Jones approached Coner, she said he was on his way home. When offered the money by Jones, Williams said Coner was most likely “excited about $6.00 to get some food.”
“Where was human compassion?” she said in the lengthy post. “I’m totally devastated. He was a humble man.”
5. Williams Started a GoFundMe Page
Williams started a GoFundMe page with a fundraising goal of $15,000 to help her pay for her brother’s funeral. At the time of publishing, $945 had been donated. She also shared more about Coner. Since their mother’s death in 2018, Williams said, Coner’s mental health had declined.
“Larry’s mental illness worsened to a point he didn’t know when people meant him harm,” she wrote on the page.
She also revealed that Coner died on their mother’s birthday, June 30.
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