Crimesider
Crimesider
January 5, 2010 6:00 AM

Michael Brewer, Florida Teen Set on Fire, Back in Hospital

By
Ryan Smith
Topics
Daily Blotter
(WFOR/Jackson Memorial Hospital)
(CBS/WFOR/Broward Sheriff's Office)
(CBS/WFOR/Family Photo)
MIAMI (CBS/AP) Michael Brewer, the South Florida teen who was doused with rubbing alcohol and set on fire after an argument over a video game, is back in the hospital after he had trouble breathing.

Photo: Michael Brewer recovering in Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Nov. 2009.

Jackson Health System spokeswoman Lorraine Nelson said Brewer was admitted to Holtz Children's Hospital on Sunday and is in serious condition.

Brewer, 15, was the target of a gruesome attack last October which left the boy with burns on about 65 percent of his body.

Photo: Matthew Bent (left), Denver Jarvis (center) and Jesus Mendez (right) have all been charged with attempted second degree murder.

He spent more than two months in the hospital after the Oct. 12 incident and received three skin graft surgeries. On Dec. 22, 2009, Brewer was discharged from Jackson Memorial, but said he was too afraid to return to his old Deerfield Beach, Fla., neighborhood.

"He doesn't want to go back and I don't blame him," his mother, Valerie Brewer, said in December. "We're looking forward to moving on and having some peace."

After his release, Michael was scheduled to return to the hospital five times a week for physical therapy. His doctor had said a long-term prognosis likely won't be known for at least another year. It's not yet clear how this new setback will affect his long-term outcome.

Photo: Michael Brewer.

The three teens who allegedly attacked Brewer -- Matthew Bent, 15, Denver Jarvis, 15, and Jesus Mendez, 16 -- have been charged as adults with second-degree attempted murder.

According to police summaries taken from eyewitness accounts, Bent was upset with Brewer over $40 he said Brewer owed him for a video game.

Brewer agreed to pay him back and he shook hands with Bent, according to court documents. Then Bent yelled, "Wait, wait, wait. Come back here."

Bent then allegedly ordered his friend Jarvis to "pour it on him," referring to a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

Prosecutors believe Mendez then used a lighter to set Brewer on fire.

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
December 14, 2009 - Michael Brewer Court Docs: "Pour it On Him," Teen Said Before Alcohol-Soaked Boy is Lit on Fire
December 7, 2009 - Michael Brewer, Boy Burned by Bullies, Gets New Skin Graft
November 25, 2009 - Michael Brewer Was "Best Friend" Says Boy Originally Accused of Helping Set Teen on Fire
November 20, 2009 - Michael Brewer's Parents: Boy Burned by Bullies Still Asks for Water to Douse Flames
November 11, 2009 - Michael Brewer Case: Mom Apologizes for Son Who Allegedly Set 15-Year-Old on Fire
October 23, 2009 - Michael Brewer, Boy Burned by Bullies, Getting Better
October 16, 2009 - Boy Burned By Bullies, Michael Brewer's Horrifying 911 Call
October 15, 2009 - Boy Burned by Bullies, Mother Says Michael Brewer Staying Strong


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