Some of the teens charged in the blaze laughed when investigators confronted them about the attack, the Sheriff's Office said.
During a chance encounter at an apartment complex on Monday afternoon,
the boys accosted Brewer and condemned him as a snitch for calling the cops on their leader, whom the Sheriff's Office identified as the local bully.
Brewer tried to leave. They doused him with rubbing alcohol and set him afire. Flames burned most of his body, especially his torso and arms, and seared off much of his hair, including his eyebrows, family members said.
Near a wall by the Lime Tree Apartments in the 400 block of Southeast 13th Court, the boys found a bottle of rubbing alcohol, police said. They entered the complex's pool area and by chance came upon Brewer, who was waiting for a friend.
Brewer tried to walk away. Deputies said the group surrounded him.
"Snitch, snitch!" taunted Bent, who ordered Denver Jarvis to pour the alcohol on Brewer, according to investigators.
Bent and the Jarvis brothers were arrested Monday night. Bent and Denver Jarvis laughed under questioning, Feeley said. Only Mendez, arrested along with Shelton on Tuesday, showed remorse, the deputy said.
Should Brewer die, all five could face murder charges, Lamberti said. All have previous juvenile records, which are sealed.
Lawyers for the younger Jarvis brother and for Bent said their clients were "minimally involved" in the attack. Attorney Stephen Melnick 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."
Namias, the burn center director, said people have survived burns as severe as Brewer's, but only after slow and excruciatingly painful treatment. The teen has been sedated while doctors tended to his burns.
"This is just the beginning, if all goes well, of many months in the ICU and the hospital, many operations of skin grafting, many sessions of occupational therapy," he said. "This is a life-changing event for this young man."
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