Mother of Severely Burned Florida Boy Pleads for End to Childhood Violence

Oct. 15, 2009— -- The mother of a Florida boy who was severely burned after a group of teenagers set him on fire said adults need to do something to stop the wave of violence among children.

"People really need to wake up and see what's going on with this generation. They need to take hold of our children and really do something," Valerie Brewer told "Good Morning America" today. "The violence across our nation, across our world with our children is getting stronger and stronger, and we need to stop it now, so this doesn't happen to somebody else."

"It's just unimaginable," she said. "Violence doesn't solve anything."

Brewer said her son is heavily sedated and has a tube to help him breath and can't speak.

It's unclear how much he remembers of the vicious attack, in which five teens allegedly doused him with rubbing alcohol and set him on fire, sending 15-year-old Michael running for a nearby pool. He was left with severe burns over 65 percent of his body.

But Brewer said her son can open his eyes when he hears her voice. He even tried to ask her to take his tubes out.

"I know he's in excellent hands," she said. "He's very strong."

Dr. Nicholas Namias of Jackson Memorial Ryder Hospital, where Michael is being treated, said the burn covers portions of nearly every part of his body save for a strip down his front. He cautioned that the teen's condition could worsen in the coming days.

"It's a rocky ride. Things get worse before they get better," Namia told "Good Morning America." "What's going on now is the whole body goes under a huge inflammatory response, and so we start seeing difficulty with the lungs and kidneys."

Even if Brewer makes it through the next few weeks, there is still the likelihood of organ failure and the painful prospect of multiple operations to replace the burned skin, his doctors said.

Namia said it was hard to tell whether Michael's reaction of running to the nearby pool made things worse or saved his life.

"I still want every kid out there to remember stop drop and roll," he said. "The running part may have fanned the flames."

Bank of America and Jackson Memorial Foundation have set up a fund in Brewer's name. Donations are being accepted at any Bank of America branch, and the Jackson Memorial Foundation can be reached at (305) 355-4999.

Mother Knows Teens Who Allegedly Burned Her Son

The alleged assault, police have said, was prompted by an argument over a $40 video game.

Charged in the attack were Steve Shelton, 15, of Deerfield Beach; Denver Jarvis, 15; Jeremy Jarvis, 13; Matthew Bent, 15;, and Jesus Mendez, 15; all of Pompano Beach, Fla.

The boys are all charged with aggravated battery, according to the sheriff's office. In addition, Mendez, who police allege flicked the lighter that caused the fire, is charged with attempted second degree murder.

The four 15-year-olds could be charged as adults because of the "degree of cruelty" involved in the attack, officials said this week. But the fifth boy, 13-year-old Jeremy Jarvis, may be too young to be charged as an adult.

Valerie Brewer said that she knows the teens who were arrested but said she didn't want to speak about them.

The vicious attack has shocked the Deerfield Beach community, nestled on the Florida coast north of Fort Lauderdale, not only for the act of setting Brewer afire but for the teens' chilling reaction.

"I'll be honest with you. A couple of them were laughing about it last night. [Only] one of them seemed genuinely sorry for what he did," said Sgt. Steve Feeley, according to ABC News affiliate WPBF.

"The sheriff called it one of the most heinous crimes he had seen in his 31 years in law enforcement. It's a cliche to say a crime has shocked a community, but this crime really has shocked the community," sheriff's office spokesman Jim Leljedal told ABCNews.com.

Teen Burned Over a $40 Video Game

The Broward County State Attorney's office has 30 days to decide whether or not to try Shelton, Bent, Mendez and Denver Jarvis as adults. According to Assistant State Attorney Maria Schneider, in Florida people who are 14 and older can be transferred to adult court for certain types of serious felonies.

"Certainly the degree of cruelty and lack of consideration for others in this crime is something we take very, very seriously," Schneider said.

Jeremy Jarvis could only be transferred to adult court by way of a grand jury for certain offenses but not for aggravated battery, because he is only 13.

Schneider said her office has made no decision yet on whether or not to charge the juveniles as adults.

"We are nowhere near that point yet," she said.

In making the decision, Schneider said the state attorney's office would take into account any prior records of the juveniles, their behavioral history and the victim's family's wishes.

Authorities are calling the crime a "torturous attack" and said it all may have started over a video game. Authorities said Brewer owed Bent $40 for a video game. When Brewer didn't pay up, Bent tried to steal a bicycle belonging to the Brewer family. The attempted theft was reported to the police.

The next day Brewer went to an apartment complex where the five suspects cornered him near a swimming pool, according to authorities. At that point, the sheriff's office alleged, Denver Jarvis splashed Brewer with rubbing alcohol and Jesus Mendez used a lighter to set him on fire. Brewer ran into the pool to try to douse the flames.

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