- Apr 4, 2007
- 832
- 14
DEERFIELD BEACH - Relatives of the five boys accused of setting a Deerfield Beach teenager on fire expressed their ownshock Wednesday that anyone, let alone their own family members, could be accused of such a horrific crime.
"I know my brothers didn't intentionally try to hurt anyone," said Danielle Jarvis, 19, whose brothers, Denver, 15, and Jeremy, 13, were arrestedMonday night. "Now, they're in a real spot. I'm scared for them."
But investigators say the Jarvis brothers were part of a group that surrounded 15-year-old Michael Brewer outside a Deerfield Beach apartment complex, splashedhim with rubbing alcohol and lit him ablaze Monday afternoon.
The other three facing aggravated assault charges are: Jesus Mendez, 15, also charged with attempted murder as the boy accused of actually lighting the fire;Steven Shelton, who turns 16 Thursday; and Matthew Bent, 15, accused of directing the attack in retaliation for his arrest Sunday for allegedly trying to stealBrewer's father's custom bicycle.
Danielle Jarvis said her brothers were hanging with a bad crowd in a bad neighborhood, but she never thought any of them were capable of the crime that leftBrewer hospitalized with burns over two-thirds of his body.
"My brothers don't go around lighting people on fire," she said. "I don't know what possessed any of those kids to do that."
All five boys were ordered held in a juvenile detention center for 21 days. Their next court appearance is Nov. 2. Prosecutors have not said whetherthey'll attempt to have them tried as adults.
Shelton's mother, Patricia Hollis, walked out of the courtroom in tears after his first appearance Wednesday morning. She said she didn't want to talkabout her son, but earlier she told WFOR-Ch. 4 that her son was not involved in the incident.
"I feel so sorry for [Brewer], I really do. And it's sad. It really is," Hollis said. "My prayers go out to him and his family."
Outside Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami Wednesday, doctors said Brewer faces a long road to recovery. He remains in intensive care and on a ventilator, saidDr. Nicholas Namias, director of the hospital's Burn Center.
"The next step will be an operation to remove burn tissue and replace it with either temporary grafts or to start with grafts from his own body,"Namias said.
And he said Brewer's condition will worsen before it improves.
"The easiest days are the first days," he said. He said Brewer's survival and recovery will depend on how well his body responds over the nextcouple of weeks to the consequences of being burned alive.
Arrest reports show all five suspects are students at Deerfield Beach Middle School, though that is disputed by the attorney representing Denver Jarvis.
At the school Wednesday, students said they were shocked by the violence of the incident, but once that shock wore off, they were not surprised to hear who wasaccused. The only exception was Jeremy Jarvis, the small-framed, baby-faced wisecracker more likely to get tossed out of a classroom for talking too much thanfor anything physical.
"He's not a bad kid," said classmate Alicia Cortez, 13, a seventh grader at the school. "His brother, he's really bad. Jeremy'spretty funny."
Jonathan Skalaranko, 13, said rumors were racing through the school Monday after Bent was arrested for trying to steal Brewer's bicycle. When word spreadTuesday about the attack, Skalaranko said he couldn't believe it.
"I was just shocked," he said. "I thought they were lying."
Students said Brewer was originally friends with the other boys, but that had recently changed. The Broward Sheriff's Office said that was because Bentaccused Brewer of failing to repay $40 he had borrowed to buy a video game. The attempted bicycle theft was an attempt to collect on that debt, theSheriff's Office said, but Brewer called 911.
That got him labeled a snitch, the word used to taunt Brewer during the attack at the Lime Tree Apartments on the 400 block of Southeast 13th Court. None ofthe teens tried to help Brewer once the fire started, according to the arrest reports. Mendez, accused of setting the blaze, also got a taste of the painBrewer felt when his arm was scorched.
Brewer jumped into a nearby pool to put out the flames, sparing the worst damage to his hands and face, doctors said.
At Deerfield Beach Middle, classmates put up posters asking for donations to help pay Brewer's medical expenses. Buckets were passed in classrooms to takeup collections.
According to court records, the father of the Jarvis children also faced trouble over setting a fire decades ago. Archived Broward court records show that backin 1984 when Denver Colorado Jarvis Sr. was 20, he ignited and threw a Molotov cocktail into a neighbor's Pompano Beach yard.
He eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years of probation. A formal felony conviction was withheld from his criminal record.
Staff Writers Alexia Campbell and Tonya Alanez and Staff Researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at [email protected] or 954-356-4694.
"I know my brothers didn't intentionally try to hurt anyone," said Danielle Jarvis, 19, whose brothers, Denver, 15, and Jeremy, 13, were arrestedMonday night. "Now, they're in a real spot. I'm scared for them."
But investigators say the Jarvis brothers were part of a group that surrounded 15-year-old Michael Brewer outside a Deerfield Beach apartment complex, splashedhim with rubbing alcohol and lit him ablaze Monday afternoon.
The other three facing aggravated assault charges are: Jesus Mendez, 15, also charged with attempted murder as the boy accused of actually lighting the fire;Steven Shelton, who turns 16 Thursday; and Matthew Bent, 15, accused of directing the attack in retaliation for his arrest Sunday for allegedly trying to stealBrewer's father's custom bicycle.
Danielle Jarvis said her brothers were hanging with a bad crowd in a bad neighborhood, but she never thought any of them were capable of the crime that leftBrewer hospitalized with burns over two-thirds of his body.
"My brothers don't go around lighting people on fire," she said. "I don't know what possessed any of those kids to do that."
All five boys were ordered held in a juvenile detention center for 21 days. Their next court appearance is Nov. 2. Prosecutors have not said whetherthey'll attempt to have them tried as adults.
Shelton's mother, Patricia Hollis, walked out of the courtroom in tears after his first appearance Wednesday morning. She said she didn't want to talkabout her son, but earlier she told WFOR-Ch. 4 that her son was not involved in the incident.
"I feel so sorry for [Brewer], I really do. And it's sad. It really is," Hollis said. "My prayers go out to him and his family."
Outside Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami Wednesday, doctors said Brewer faces a long road to recovery. He remains in intensive care and on a ventilator, saidDr. Nicholas Namias, director of the hospital's Burn Center.
"The next step will be an operation to remove burn tissue and replace it with either temporary grafts or to start with grafts from his own body,"Namias said.
And he said Brewer's condition will worsen before it improves.
"The easiest days are the first days," he said. He said Brewer's survival and recovery will depend on how well his body responds over the nextcouple of weeks to the consequences of being burned alive.
Arrest reports show all five suspects are students at Deerfield Beach Middle School, though that is disputed by the attorney representing Denver Jarvis.
At the school Wednesday, students said they were shocked by the violence of the incident, but once that shock wore off, they were not surprised to hear who wasaccused. The only exception was Jeremy Jarvis, the small-framed, baby-faced wisecracker more likely to get tossed out of a classroom for talking too much thanfor anything physical.
"He's not a bad kid," said classmate Alicia Cortez, 13, a seventh grader at the school. "His brother, he's really bad. Jeremy'spretty funny."
Jonathan Skalaranko, 13, said rumors were racing through the school Monday after Bent was arrested for trying to steal Brewer's bicycle. When word spreadTuesday about the attack, Skalaranko said he couldn't believe it.
"I was just shocked," he said. "I thought they were lying."
Students said Brewer was originally friends with the other boys, but that had recently changed. The Broward Sheriff's Office said that was because Bentaccused Brewer of failing to repay $40 he had borrowed to buy a video game. The attempted bicycle theft was an attempt to collect on that debt, theSheriff's Office said, but Brewer called 911.
That got him labeled a snitch, the word used to taunt Brewer during the attack at the Lime Tree Apartments on the 400 block of Southeast 13th Court. None ofthe teens tried to help Brewer once the fire started, according to the arrest reports. Mendez, accused of setting the blaze, also got a taste of the painBrewer felt when his arm was scorched.
Brewer jumped into a nearby pool to put out the flames, sparing the worst damage to his hands and face, doctors said.
At Deerfield Beach Middle, classmates put up posters asking for donations to help pay Brewer's medical expenses. Buckets were passed in classrooms to takeup collections.
According to court records, the father of the Jarvis children also faced trouble over setting a fire decades ago. Archived Broward court records show that backin 1984 when Denver Colorado Jarvis Sr. was 20, he ignited and threw a Molotov cocktail into a neighbor's Pompano Beach yard.
He eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years of probation. A formal felony conviction was withheld from his criminal record.
Staff Writers Alexia Campbell and Tonya Alanez and Staff Researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at [email protected] or 954-356-4694.
