The alleged ringleader in the Michael Brewer burning told police the teen was set on fire over a drug debt owed to one of the other boys sentenced in the fiery attack.
Matthew Aaron Bent, 17, told investigators Brewer had owed 18-year-old Jesus Mendez money for marijuana, according to a statement Bent made to police the night of the Oct. 12, 2009 attack that was obtained by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
"When I asked Matthew why Jesus would do that to Michael, Matthew replied that Michael owed him [Mendez] money for marijuana," a report of the statement to an investigator said.
Bent is charged with second-degree attempted murder in the attack on the then-15-year-old Brewer at a Deerfield Beach apartment complex. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
Police and prosecutors have said Bent and a group of boys surrounded Brewer, their classmate, and set him on fire after an argument over a $40 video game that Brewer had reportedly agreed to buy from Bent.
A recorded conversation with Mendez, in which he admitted to having marijuana in his bedroom, was released last week, but he said nothing about selling drugs to Brewer and no one besides Bent has been identified as having a dispute with Brewer.
Prosecutors say Bent directed one of the other teens, Denver Jarvis, to pour rubbing alcohol on Brewer, before Mendez pulled out a lighter and sparked a blaze that set Brewer on fire.
Brewer jumped into the apartment complex's pool to put out the flames. He was burned on over 60 percent of his body and spent months in the hospital recovering from his injuries.
Bent's lawyer, Gordon Weekes, has said his client never told Jarvis to pour the alcohol on Brewer and was just a witness to the attack.
Reenie Brewer, Michael Brewer's grandmother, denied the marijuana debt claim and said the reason for the attack didn't matter.
"I don't care what this was about," she told the Sun-Sentinel. "You still lit a 15-year-old kid on fire and stood there and watched him burn."
She told NBC 6 it is not true that the crime happened because Michael Brewer owed Mendez money for marijuana.
"Even if it wasn't a lie, I have to say does that make it all right? Does that make it okay that they set him on fire because he was trying to score some weed from somebody?" she asked. "I don't think so."
Last month, Mendez pleaded no contest to a charge of attempted second-degree murder and was sentenced to 11 years in prison, followed by 19 years of probation. Jarvis, 17, also pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 8 years in prison with a probation term of 22 years.
Bent rejected a plea deal to take his chances in court. Jury selection in his case was scheduled to begin Monday in his case, but was delayed after a judge ordered a psychological evaluation to determine his competency.
The judge also denied a motion to transfer Bent's case from adult to juvenile court. Weekes is also seeking a change of venue for the trial due to the heavy coverage of the case in South Florida. Weekes suggested jurors be chosen in Jacksonville and brought to Broward.
NBC 6's Steve Litz contributed reporting.
