Man tells police he bound and gagged boys so they wouldn’t hurt themselves

The 20-year-old man who bound and gagged two toddlers in a south valley apartment garage Tuesday said he didn’t want the boys to hurt themselves while he left to watch a basketball game with a friend, according to a Las Vegas police report.

Jonathan Weaver is being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center on charges of child abuse and neglect, kidnapping and attempted murder. The children involved were his girlfriend’s sons, ages 1 and 2.

Plywood now covers the garage unit at Augusta Apartments on 10175 Spencer Street, south of Pyle Avenue. Weaver left the boys there for more than two hours, police said, before a neighbor heard their cries. According to the report, Amanda Freeman heard noises in the unit around 8:20 p.m. Tuesday and called police.

Police and firefighters forcibly removed the garage door and found the toddlers strapped in car seats. They were bound with twine and gagged with parts of a ripped T-shirt. The 1-year-old boy had a shirt wrapped tightly around his head. Both boys had white rope wrapped three times around their necks.

They were taken to St. Rose Dominican Hospital, Siena campus, for treatment and then released to Clark County Child Protective Services.

Investigators said the garage was rented to Lisa-Maries Brija, who lives at the apartment complex and is Weaver’s mother. Brija told officers that her son’s girlfriend, 20-year-old Amy Beltran, had two sons that matched the descriptions of those found in the garage.

Weaver arrived home during the investigation and told police he had dropped Beltran off at night school. He at first attempted to take the boys to her parent’s house so he could watch a Las Vegas 51s game with friends.

When Beltran’s parents were unable to watch the boys, Weaver returned home and put the children in the garage.

Beltran and Weaver had fought because he was upset he had to take the children. He is not the father of the boys, but according to the report, Beltran said she did not have any concerns about his parenting skills with her children. She told officers that she leaves her sons with Weaver often and was unaware of what happened while she in class Tuesday.

Beltran also is pregnant with Weaver’s child, the report said.

Weaver told police he didn’t think what happened was “a big deal” because he and the boys have had “camp outs” in the garage before.

He played with the boys for about a half an hour. He said “he could not believe what he was about to do next,” according to the report.

Weaver said he placed their palms together and tied their hands using twine because he was afraid the boys would impale themselves if they grabbed the tools surrounding them.

He said he draped a piece of a shirt on one boy’s head because he is teething and often bleeds. He did not explain why the boys were bound tightly and gagged with cloth.

Weaver then waited until the boys were asleep and left to meet a friend to watch the NBA Finals game at a nearby PT’s Pub. When he returned home, he said he hadn’t realized how long he’d been gone.

Weaver has refused requests for an interview.

Contact reporter Maggie Lillis at mlillis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.