The Bike

This kid could use your prayers:

A 15-year-old Deerfield Beach boy was badly burned Monday afternoon when he was doused with a flammable liquid and intentionally set on fire, according to officials.

Broward Sheriff's Office spokesman Jim Leljedal said the boy, identified by family members as Michael Brewer, was sitting by a swimming pool about 3:15 p.m. when the bizarre attack took place.

The seventh-grader suffered burns over 75 percent of his body, especially on his torso and arms, Leljedal said.

Brewer's sister, Malissa Durkee, 22, said her brother screamed for help and got the attention of a neighbor who put out the flames with a fire extinguisher.

The boy then ripped off his shirt and jumped into the pool, she said.

Shortly before 9 p.m., a family member said deputies told the family that two suspects had been arrested. BSO could not confirm the arrests Monday night.

Detectives were investigating whether the attack at the Lime Tree Apartments in the 400 block of Southeast 13th Court was tied to an incident the day before, when Brewer stopped someone from stealing his father's bicycle.

Danny Martinez, Malissa Durkee's brother-in-law, said Brewer, a student at Deerfield Beach Middle School, had refused to go to school Monday because of Sunday's incident. BSO officials said he had gone to the apartments to visit a friend.

After the attack, Brewer was taken by helicopter to Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, then was transferred to Jackson Memorial Hospital's burn unit in Miami.

From bike theft to attempted murder resulting in grievous bodily harm in just a day is quite the criminal leap. I can't wait to see the little darlings' mugshots. I'm sure it's not the first they've posed for.

UPDATE:
Cute kid, huh? He's now looking at, oh, I'd say quite a few surgeries. Two 15-year-olds and a 13-year-old were taken into custody and are appearing in court this afternoon.
We do have a new motive: they planned and carried out the attack over the 90 zillion bucks the vic owed them. Actually, I'm just guessing the amount. It would have to be alot of dough to rate doing this. Right?
 

UPDATE II:
Suspects named:

The suspects, Matthew Bent, 15; Denver Colorado Jarvis, 15; and his brother Jeremy Jarvis, 13, appeared before Circuit Judge Elijah Williams, who said the victim was sitting by a swimming pool at about 3:15 p.m. when the three teens allegedly approached him and confronted him "over money they said he owed them."

Then, he said, the victim was held down while the alcohol was poured on him, and someone lit the blaze. Brewer, a seventh-grader, jumped into the pool to put out the fire, the judge said. Family members said most of his hair, including his eyelashes, had been burned off.

The Jarvis brothers and Bent were each ordered held in a juvenile detention center for 21 days, and will not be allowed to speak to each other, Williams said. They were also ordered not to contact Brewer.

Lawyers for the younger Jarvis brother and for Bent said their clients were "minimally involved" in the attack. Attorney Stephen Melnick said said Jeremy Jarvis was "just there. He was not accused of actually doing it."

Attorney Gordon Weekes, representing Bent, said his client "understands the gravity of the charges."

UPDATE III:

The illustrious Jarvis brothers, Jeremy and Denver

Matthew Bent

Hopefully the shackles they're wearing make them feel like some big ol' gangsters because I know how fragile a tenderfoot thug's self-esteem can be.

UPDATE IV:
More arrests and the original motive rears its head:

Moments before Michael Brewer was engulfed in flames, Matthew Bent, 15, the teen accused of organizing the attack, yelled "Snitch, snitch!" and "Pour it on him!," said Sgt. Steve Feeley, the deputy who investigated the case.

However, officials on Tuesday called the attack an unplanned incident: The teens had found a jug of rubbing alcohol by chance and did not know Brewer was going to be near the Deerfield Beach apartment complex's pool where they set him on fire.

Bent and four others have been arrested and charged with aggravated assault: brothers Denver Jarvis, 15, and Jeremy Jarvis, 13; Steven Shelton, 15; and Jesus Mendez, 15.

Mendez, who authorities say is the one who flicked a lighter at Brewer, was also charged with attempted second-degree murder.

Brewer suffered second-degree burns to 80 percent of his body, especially on his torso and arms, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Did some mean-ass little boys with a grudge against some kid happen to come upon a jug of alcohol then wander by happenstance into that boy's path? It could happen.

Got a camera? It's 7:00 p.m. and that's when the simian squadron flies a sortie from my sphincter. It's kind of like my version of the changing of the guard.