A Broward judge ruled Friday that one of the teens accused of setting a boy on fire over a year ago should be allowed to get out of jail.
Matthew Bent, 16, could be released from jail today after being granted a $250,000 bail despite facing attempted murder charges for the fiery attack on Michael Brewer.
On Oct. 12, 2009, friends Denver Jarvis, Jesus Mendez and Bent allegedly went after Brewer because the boy owed Bent money.
Prosecutors and police claim Bent was the mastermind that ordered the group to pour a flammable liquid on Brewer and set him on fire in a Deerfield Beach apartment complex.
Mendez allegedly tossed the lighter that set Brewer, a classmate of the three boys, ablaze.
After the attack, Brewer became a sympathetic national figure and the poster child for the ill effects of bullying. He suffered severe burns over two-thirds of his body and was placed in a medically induced coma for months.
After constant surgeries and intense physical and emotional therapy, Brewer has returned to school and is leading a relatively normal life, his family has said.
It's unclear how the Brewer family feels about Friday's developments. They have moved to Boca Raton since the incident, but have attended several court hearings in the case.
They were not at Friday's bond hearing.
It's also unclear when Bent will be released from jail or if his family can post the bond.
