6:45 p.m.The two males charged with brutal beating death of a Napa teen have pleaded not guilty.

On Friday, Donovan Pierre, 23, and Derrice Lewis, 16, appeared before Napa County Superior Court Judge Rodney Stone. They are charged with the murder and robbery of Napa High School student Jesus Tornero, 16, on Sept. 22.

Pierre and Lewis are accused of robbing the boy of $10 and his cell phone before they beat him to death. Their preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 23.

Although Lewis is a minor, the Napa County District Attorney’s Office has charged him as an adult. But because of his age, he is being housed without bail in juvenile hall.

Pierre is being held without bail in Napa County jail.

On Friday a standing-room-only crowd of with family and friends of both the defendants and victim jammed the courtroom.

The court hearing was brief, but Tornero’s family gathered for several minutes outside, where a Spanish-speaking district attorney investigator explained the court proceeding to them.

Lewis’ mother, Irene Lewis, left immediately with her family and friends. Both families declined to speak to the Register.

Irene Lewis and her three children, including Derrice, moved to Vallejo to live with her aunt after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their New Orleans home in 2006. They soon moved to an apartment complex on Lincoln Avenue in Napa — the same complex where Tornero lived at the time of his death.

According to police reports, Pierre, Lewis and Tornero did not know one another.

In August 2006, the Register interviewed Irene Lewis. At that time she told the Register reporter that Derrice, who was then 14, was having a tough time adjusting to the move.

She said after he was involved with three fights at a Napa middle school, he switched to an alternative education program. At the time of his arrest for Tornero’s murder, Lewis was a student at Chamberlain High School in east Napa, a school for students with discipline problems.

Tornero was walking home around 9 p.m. on Sept. 22 after hanging out with friends when he was confronted by two males, police said.

When he was attacked, neighbors in the 2300 block of Louisa Street, behind the Lincoln Avenue apartment complex, heard the commotion and called police.

When officers and paramedics arrived, they found Tornero had been severely beaten. He was taken to Queen of the Valley Medical Center, where he died within a short time.

Police investigators have said Tornero’s death was not gang related.

If found guilty of the charges, Pierre and Lewis would face a maximum of 25 years to life in state prison.