Burn Teens Plead Not Guilty
Three teens accused of setting Michael Brewer on fire in court
By BRIAN HAMACHER
Updated 1:45 PM EST, Thu, Nov 19, 2009
In their court first appearance since being charged as adults, the three teens accused of setting a classmate on fire plead not guilty to attempted second-degree murder today.
Matthew Bent and Denver Jarvis, both 15, and 16-year-old Jesus Mendez all wore orange jumpsuits as they appeared before a judge today to enter their plea.
The three teens are accused of pouring rubbing alcohol on 15-year-old Michael Brewer then setting him on fire in a horrific attack in a Deerfield Beach apartment complex on Oct. 12.
Brewer suffered burns on over 65 percent of his body and has been recovering at Jackson Memorial hospital ever since the brutal attack. He was finally taken out of intensive care Tuesday, but faces many more months in the hospital.
Sharon Jarvis, Denver's mother, attended the hearing but refused to comment afterward. Denver's lawyer, Valerie Williams, said the Jarvis family is in pain.
"He's scared, I don't know what else to tell you other than he's scared," Williams said. "The family is devastated, they're going to get their story out at some point, they're just trying to deal with it, he goes from being a 15-year-old student to being charged and he has some mental health issues that I have to address and we're trying to get them addressed."
The three will be in court again on Jan. 17.
First Published: Nov 19, 2009 1:26 PM EST
You Might Like
You have 2000 characters left
