The Franklin Files

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla – On Tuesday, 15-year-old Michael Brewer had skipped school and was visiting a friend outside the Lime Tree Apartments complex. As he sat by the pool, he was approached by five other teens who began yelling that he was a snitch and to “pour it on him“. When Brewer tried to walk away from the group, police said 15-year-old Denver Jarvis splashed him with a jar of rubbing alcohol and Jesus Mendez, 15, used a lighter to set him on fire. Brewer ended up jumping in the pool to extinguish the flames, but the damage had been done. He suffered second degree burns over up to 80 percent of his body and was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital. All of this stemming from a dispute over $40.

It is being reported that Brewer owed 15-year-old Matthew Bent, $40 dollars for a video game. For repayment, Bent() tried to steal Brewer’s father’s bicycle on Sunday night. “Off my front porch– walked right on to my front porch,” recalled Michael Brewer Sr. “We pressed charges and had the kid arrested,” said Valerie Brewer, the victim’s mother. Bent was arrested, taken to a detention center and released to his parents on Monday, police said.

Steven Shelton and Matthew Bent, both 15, and 13-year-old Jeremy Jarvis all face charges of aggravated battery. Jesus Mendez, who police said actually flicked the lighter, faces charges of attempted second degree murder.

Brewer’s sister Malissa Durkee said she knows the teens who attacked her brother. “I’ve seen all of those kids,” Durkee said. “I’ve met all of those kids that did that and it just tears me up to know that they would hurt my brother like that.”

CBS 4 News() was able to get one of the accused’s parents to talk to them about the incident. Patricia Hollis’s son is one of the teens accused in the attack. A police report says that her son helped surround Brewer:




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