Insets, from left to right: Jzamir Keys, Jesus Ayala and Andreas Probst (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department). Background: A memorial that was set up for former police chief Andreas Probst (Henderson Police Department).
Two young men in Nevada have admitted to taking a deadly “joyride” in Las Vegas that ended with the murder of a retired police chief during a vicious hit-and-run.
Jesus Ayala, 20, and Jzamir Keys, 18, pleaded guilty to murder on Tuesday after being charged as adults for the 2023 death of Andreas “Andy” Probst, former chief of police of Bell, California. They were accused of intentionally mowing Probst down with a stolen car while the 64-year-old was riding a bicycle in northwest Las Vegas” Centennial Hills neighborhood. Prosecutors said the duo filmed the slaying and had targeted multiple other victims — stealing at least four cars and using them to hit a driver and another bicyclist — before taking Probst’s life.
“This was so much more than a joyride,” said Clark County District Court Judge Jacqueline Bluth at the Tuesday sentencing, according to local NBC affiliate KSNV. “It just kept going and going and escalating with more people getting hurt.”
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Ayala, who was driving at the time of Probst’s death, was handed a sentence of 20 years to life in prison after accepting a plea deal, while Keys was given 18 years to life in prison. Both men will be eligible for parole after serving 20 years as a requirement of Nevada law, since they were juveniles when they committed the crime.
“At the time they didn’t understand the gravity of what they were doing and they didn’t understand what could result, even though it seems obvious to everybody,” said Ayala’s attorney, David Westbrook, at the sentencing.
Ayala reportedly told police during his arrest that he would be out in 30 days, and that his initial hit-and-run charge as a juvenile was just a “slap on the wrist,” before prosecutors eventually upgraded it to murder.
“You think this juvenile s— is gonna do some s—? I’ll be out in 30 days. I’ll bet you,” Ayala allegedly remarked, according to police.
Probst was riding his bicycle around 6 a.m. when he was struck from behind by Keys and Ayala. The former top cop went flying off of his bike, rolled over the hood of the car, and slammed into the pavement some 96 feet away, police said. He was taken to a hospital and later died there.
Video Ayala recorded of the horrifying collision quickly went viral after being posted online. The duo could be heard laughing and saying, “hit his a—” before honking at Probst and striking him. As they sped away, they could be heard saying that he looked unconscious.
“We need to get out of here,” one of the two men, who were underage teens at the time, could be heard saying in the video. One of them could also be heard urging the other to flee, saying: “alright, go, go, go, go, PIT maneuver” before hitting Probst.
A so-called “PIT maneuver” is a technique sometimes used by law enforcement to try to apprehend drivers during high-speed pursuits.
Around the time Probst was killed, police had received a tip about a cyclist lying on the ground after being struck by a car driven by two teens wearing masks. The witness also reported seeing the suspects flee.
Just minutes later, police received another call about an abandoned vehicle with significant damage to its front end, a broken windshield, and “biological matter” on its hood. Another witness reported seeing a different stolen car strike a pole and crash about two hours after the previous call. This witness also reported seeing the driver and passenger of that car flee on foot.
“My world was destroyed,” said Probst’s widow, Crystal Probst, at the sentencing on Tuesday. “Not damaged. Not shaken. Destroyed and every single day since Andy was murdered, I wake up feeling like I’m asked to live a life I no longer recognize.”
