DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla., Dec. 14 (UPI) -- A Deerfield Beach, Fla., teenager was doused with rubbing alcohol and burned because he allegedly owed one of the suspects $40, witnesses said.
Michael Brewer, 15, suffered burns over two-thirds of his body and has been hospitalized since the Oct. 12 incident.
Three former classmates, Matthew Bent, 15, Denver Jarvis, 15, and Jesus Mendez, 16, were charged as adults with second-degree attempted murder.
Police summaries of three witness accounts allege Brewer was attacked because he owed Bent $40 for a video game, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Monday.
The day before the burning, Bent was arrested for allegedly trying to steal a custom bicycle belonging to Brewer's father. Angry about the arrest and still seeking the $40, Bent and eight other teens confronted Brewer Oct. 12, the witness summaries allege.
Brewer agreed to settle the debt when he had the money. He then shook hands with Bent and had started to walk away when Bent told Jarvis to douse him with the alcohol and Mendez lit Brewer on fire, the summaries alleged.
The statements were given by three of the nine teenagers not charged in the crime, police said. Defense lawyers have disputed the accounts.
