Teens Set 15 yr old on Fire(Back in Hospital)

[annalyzer]

anyone have the link to the perps mugshots? I saw it the other day somewhere.

[texanne]

IMO they were trying to kill him by burning him alive. Anything less than 20-30 years in prison would be a miscarriage of justice.

[annalyzer]

Burned Teen Speaks for First Time Since Attack
Michael Brewer requests comfort food in hospital in first words spoken

Updated 11:15 AM EST, Fri, Nov 13, 2009

Michael Brewer may have simple tastes, but after being at death's door for a month after a horrific burn attack, comfort and comfort food were probably the only things on the 15-year-old's mind.

Two days after he was taken off a ventilator, the teen spoke his first words yesterday, asking for a dollar so he could buy french fries and a milkshake, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Brewer has been in intensive care at the burn unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital since the Oct. 12 attack in which five classmates poured rubbing alcohol on him and set him ablaze.

With burns on over 65 percent of his body, family members have been looking for any sign of progress.

"We're all crying tears of joy," Brewer's great-aunt, Patti Gendron, told the Sun-Sentinel.

Brewer had been breathing with the help of the ventilator since he was brought to the hospital, able to communicate only through squeezing hands and other small gestures. He was taken off of the ventilator on Tuesday.

"My heart is jumping out of me," Gendron said.

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-b...-69970907.html

[LiveLaughLuv]

3 Florida teens arraigned in burn case
By Rich Phillips, CNN
November 19, 2009 12:54 p.m. EST

Fort Lauderdale, Florida (CNN) -- Three teens accused of setting a 15-year-old friend on fire were being arraigned Thursday on charges of attempted murder.

Denver Jarvis and Matthew Bent, both 15, and Jesus Mendez, 16, are charged as adults with one count of attempted murder in the second degree in the October 12 attack in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

They are being held without bond. The arraignment was in Broward County Circuit Court before Judge Dale Cohen.

Two other boys ages 13 and 15 have been charged as juveniles.

Prosecutors say Jarvis, Bent and Mendez were in a gang that poured alcohol over Michael Brewer, 15, then set him ablaze in a dispute over $40, a video game and a bicycle.

Brewer jumped into the swimming pool at his apartment complex to put out the flames, witnesses say.

Brewer suffered burns over 65 percent of his body. He's reported in guarded condition at the University of Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Center, where he's been in a private room since the incident.

Detectives say witnesses told them that Mendez used a lighter to set fire to Brewer after Jarvis poured alcohol over him. They said Matthew Bent encouraged the attack.

Authorities say Mendez admitted setting Brewer on fire, and that he made a "bad decision," according to an arrest transcript.

Detectives with the Broward County Sheriff's Office have been unable to interview Brewer. Until last week, he had been on a ventilator to keep him alive.

"We hope that we can maybe get a statement this week," said sheriff's spokesman Jim Leljedal.

"Detectives have been waiting for him to recover to the point where he's strong enough to give us a complete statement," he said.

Doctors say Brewer is improving but his condition is tenuous because of the severity of his burns and the possibility of infections. Most of his burns are on his back and buttocks; his face and hands were largely spared, doctors say.

Brewer's doctor told CNN the teen faces several more months in the hospital and will need multiple skin grafts and surgeries.

"They still have to perform several operations on him for skin grafting, but his parents are with him all the time," said Lorraine Nelson, a hospital spokeswoman.

"I don't tell him what happened," Brewer's mother, Valerie, told CNN affiliate WFOR-TV. "I just tell him he's in the hospital and he's safe and he's getting better.

"And he'll say, 'Am I going to be OK?' And I say 'Yes, Michael. You're going to be fine. You're going to be just fine,' " she said.

Investigators believe Brewer owed Bent $40 for a video game. When Brewer did not pay,Bent stole Brewer's father's bicycle, police say. When Brewer reported him to the police, Bent was arrested.

The next day, the group surrounded Brewer. The five boys called Brewer "a snitch" and set him on fire, witnesses said.

The Brewer family told WFOR that none of the families of the accused boys have tried to contact them, but it doesn't matter.

"We can't focus on it. They'll get theirs is all we can say. I don't focus on it," Michael Brewer's father, also named Michael, told WFOR.

If convicted they could face up to 30 years in prison.

A court-appointed psychologist who has examined two of the five boys told CNN they are competent to take part in legal proceedings and assist their attorney.

"I can describe both of them as being afraid, being fearful," said forensic psychologist Michael Brannon, who did not identify the boys.

"I can describe both of them as being tearful at various times during the interview, especially when talking about the specific incident which led to the injuries of the victim," he said.

Psychologists are often brought into cases involving teenagers and young adults to judge their mental capabilities and determine their competency to proceed. Psychologists also must evaluate whether the defendants can talk about what happened and communicate effectively with defense attorneys.

"I don't think they expected to have happened, what happened," Brannon said. "It's a horrible event that occurred, but this was not their conceptualization, in my opinion, of what was going to happen."
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/19/...ef=igoogle_cnn

What the heck did they think would happen as they doused him with lighter fluid and lit that lighter? It wasn't their conceptualization that a human would be burnt alive...

Unbelievable...:madranting94dp:

[Roamer]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/22/...boy/index.html




Burned Florida teen out of hospital









December 22, 2009 5:59 p.m. EST

Michael Brewer does exercises in a hospital rehabilitation unit on Tuesday.









STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Michael Brewer, 15, allegedly set on fire by other teens, faces more surgery
• He and his family are not returning home, but to an undisclosed location
• Brewers mother plans to speak to reporters on Wednesday

RELATED TOPICS

• Michael Brewer
• Juvenile Justice
• Florida

Fort Lauderdale, Florida (CNN) -- A 15-year-old boy who was burned over 65 percent of his body in October when he was set on fire, allegedly by a group of teenagers, was released from the hospital Tuesday, officials said.

Michael Brewer was discharged from the University of Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Center, spokeswoman Lorraine Nelson said in a written statement.

Doctors and Brewer's mother, Valerie, will speak to reporters Wednesday, Nelson said.

Brewer's family is headed not to their Deerfield Beach, Florida, home, but to an undisclosed location, a source close to the family said. Nelson said the family had requested privacy before the teen's discharge.

Brewer suffered second- and third-degree burns over about two-thirds of his body in the October 12 incident, the hospital's associate director, Dr. Carl Schulman, has said. He told CNN's Tony Harris last month that the teen faces a lifelong recovery from his injuries.

"Michael's still got a lot of major surgery ahead of him, a lot of rehabilitation and therapy," Schulman said. "... the recovery is lifelong. This is truly a life-changing event."

The hospital released some photographs of Brewer taken Tuesday morning in the hospital's rehabilitation unit. In the pictures his burns are clearly visible.

Three teens -- Denver Jarvis and Matthew Bent, both 15, and Jesus Mendez, 16 -- are accused of being in a group that poured alcohol over Brewer and set him ablaze in what police said was a dispute over $40, a video game and a bicycle. All three teens are charged as adults with one count of attempted murder. Each has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, each could face a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.

Detectives say eyewitnesses told them that Mendez used a lighter to set fire to Brewer after Jarvis poured alcohol over him. Bent allegedly encouraged the attack, police said. Brewer jumped into a pool at his apartment complex to put out the flames.

Authorities have said Mendez admitted setting Brewer on fire. According to an arrest transcript, the boy said he made a "bad decision."

Valerie Brewer said last month that her son's treatment at times has been excruciatingly painful. Physical therapy, she said, is "incredibly painful. He almost cries because it's so painful. He's burned badly on the backs of his knees and every time he moves his knee, it pulls, and if it's healing, it pulls the scab and it cracks and it starts to bleed."

The 13-year-old brother of one of the accused youths made a public statement in November. Jeremy Jarvis said he wanted to "express his deepest sympathy to Mikey and his family" and added he was praying for Brewer's recovery.

Jeremy Jarvis was arrested as a juvenile after the incident and spent about 30 days in juvenile detention. However, prosecutors have not filed charges against him and are still determining how to proceed. He could still be charged, as prosecutors have 90 days from his arrest to decide whether to move forward with the case.

Jeremy Jarvis' attorney, Stephen Melnick, said it appeared the younger Jarvis was only a witness to the attack.

Valerie Brewer said she was heartbroken when she learned her son's attackers may have included teens who they knew.

"But we don't focus on that," she said last month. "We focus strictly on Michael and his recovery."


Another Christmas Miracle!

[LiveLaughLuv]

I feel so bad looking at Michael's burns...

But I feel very elated he is home for Christmas...

Yes, Michael, you have your Christmas miracle...

Still a long road ahead of him...may God Bless Michael as he struggles through more surgeries...

[TigressPen]

God keep you strong Michael. You will make it through all the pain and surgeries you must endure.

[Faith]

Thank God he's home and doing good. He has a long way to go.

[sunstar]

I saw this on the news today! It's absolutely wonderful and I agree, a Christmas miracle. God bless you, Michael!

[LiveLaughLuv]

Mom: Burned teen looking forward to Christmas with family
December 23, 2009 6:13 p.m. EST

Miami, Florida (CNN) -- He wanted to sit outside for a while and enjoy the night air, then took a shower and curled up on the couch to watch a cartoon movie.

A boring night by many teenagers' standards. But 15-year-old Michael Brewer, who suffered burns over 65 percent of his body in October -- allegedly at the hands of a group of youths he knew -- reveled in it, his mother told reporters Wednesday. Being out of a hospital burn unit, she said, was "the only thing he wanted for Christmas."

"He's really looking forward to spending Christmas with his family," Valerie Brewer said of her son, who was released from the University of Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Center on Tuesday. "We hope everybody has as wonderful a Christmas as we're going to have."

Three teens -- Denver Jarvis and Matthew Bent, both 15, and Jesus Mendez, 16 -- are accused of being in a group that poured alcohol over Brewer and set him ablaze October 12 in what police said was a dispute over $40, a video game and a bicycle. All three teens are charged as adults with one count of attempted murder. Each has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, each could face a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.

The family did not return to their Deerfield Beach, Florida, home, and does not plan to, Valerie Brewer said. Instead, they went to "a safe place" -- both so they can have privacy and so Michael Brewer can feel secure.

"He doesn't feel safe going back to the neighborhood," she said. "The families of the boys live within five blocks of us. He does fear for his life going back there. ... He doesn't want to go back and I don't blame him. We're looking forward to moving on and having some peace." She told CNN in an interview later Wednesday the family is looking for another home.



Video: Burned boy leaves hospital

Video: Boy burned in attack released Brewer, who suffered second- and third-degree burns over about two-thirds of his body, has "a long road ahead of him," Dr. Louis Pizano, associate director of the burn center, said Wednesday. He faces hours of physical therapy five days a week, Pizano said -- a painful process both because of the burns and because of muscle atrophy resulting from the recovery process. Therapists are working to help him walk more easily and regain a range of motion in his arms and legs, Pizano said.

Doctors are hopeful Brewer will not require any more skin grafts, he said.

Valerie Brewer told CNN in a later interview Wednesday that her son managed to shower "all by himself" Tuesday night. Showers can be excruciating for him, she said, as it hurts when the soap and water hit his open wounds. Plus, she said, he must take a piece of gauze and wipe his wounds to get any dead skin off. "He's very courageous for doing it by himself."

Besides his painful treatment and recovery, Brewer suffered an emotional toll, his mother said.

"He really doesn't talk about it with me or with his father," Valerie Brewer said. "He talks to the therapists about it because he doesn't want to upset us."

He takes medication to help with night terrors, she told CNN, but "he wakes up every night with nightmares." She said she sleeps about three or four hours a night, depending on how many times her son wakes up in pain or with a nightmare.

He never gave up on anything. ... His will to live is just unbelievable, and to move on and live a happy, normal life.

--Valerie Brewer, Michael's mother

Detectives say eyewitnesses told them that Mendez used a lighter to set fire to Brewer after Jarvis poured alcohol over him. Bent allegedly encouraged the attack, police said. Brewer jumped into a pool at his apartment complex to put out the flames.

Authorities have said Mendez admitted setting Brewer on fire. According to an arrest transcript, the boy said he made a "bad decision."

Pizano said Wednesday he would have predicted a six-moth hospital stay for Brewer. While he said it is "miraculous" that Brewer was released in two months, "the reason why he's home so early is because of him." He said Brewer did everything he needed to do, a formidable task even for an injured adult. "He followed everything to the T, and he got home early."

Brewer will be home-schooled for the rest of this year and possibly next to allow his recovery to progress, Valerie Brewer said.

"He never gave up on anything," she said. "He got a little depressed once in a while -- anybody would, going through this kind of situation -- but his will to live is just unbelievable, and to move on and live a happy, normal life."

She told CNN, "He's such inspiration to me. Seeing him go through this -- I know the rest of his life, he's going to have challenges, but nothing is going to ever amount to what he has gone through now, and what he's going to go through for the next several months."
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/23/...ef=igoogle_cnn