Teen expresses sympathy in torching of ‘friend’
Jeremy Jarvis, the younger brother of Denver Colorado Jarvis (yes, that’s his real name) — one of three teenagers charged with attempted murder (as adults) in the torching of Michael Brewer, who was doused with rubbing alcohol and set on fire as five boys surrounded him, has made his first public statement, expressing sympathy for the burned teen. (Contrary to the headlines, there was no actual apology.) Jeremy Jarvis who is just 13, has not yet been charged like his broth “DC,” aged 15, and two other teens, Matthew Bent, 15 and Jesus Mendez, 16. And he includes a shout out to his brother, along with “Mikey,” whom he called “one of his best friends” (a friend he allegedly watched being set on fire.) In the video below, Jarvis’ lawyer reveals that the seventh grader has been expelled from school due to his arrest, and is being home schooled. Watch:
By the way, Denver and Jeremy Jarvis’ mom previously apologized to the Brewer family, in the old fashioned sense of the word. Read more
Local buzz: burned teen has flashbacks, Miami has a new chief
The parents of Michael Brewer, the 15-year-old who was set on fire by a group of classmates who claimed he owed one of them $40 spoke to the CBS affiliate in Miami, and say their son is still heavily sedated much of the time, but that when he does come to, he often has flashbacks, thinking he is still on fire. (Video here.) According to CBS 4, the teen’s burns (over 60 percent of his body) are mostly on his back and buttocks. He covered his face during the attack, which probably saved his life. Three of the five teens involved in the attack are being charged as adults.
Considering the alternatives, which included a SWAT commander who, along with Chief John Timoney, was tainted by the over-heated policing during the FTAA summit in 2003, and who, according to the Miami Herald, “was investigated over the controversial beating of a man while in police custody” and who though the investigation was inconclusive, “was found in violation of proper procedures for transporting the suspect in an unmarked, uncaged car…”; and a guy who “in 1988 as a sergeant … was relieved of duty with pay for more than a year after officers under his supervision, in an infamous case, fatally beat drug dealer Leonardo Mercado. Six officers were acquitted, although four were later convicted of covering up the incident,” (he “was not charged, denied wrongdoing and cooperated with prosecutors before returning to the department”…) I suppose Miami could do worse than to pick a pal of the new mayor to be Miami’s next police chief. Interestingly enough, I’m hearing some rumblings that the fourth possible choice, and the only African-American, likely had no chance because Miami recently appointed its first black fire chief. So of course, two’s a crowd, even if they’re not in the same agency… what year are we in, again?
Meanwhile, north of West Dixie Highway, Broward County makes Joe Eggelletion disappear… and columnist Michael Mayo finds some intriguing connections between accused Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein and a year-old murder mystery.
UPDATE: the three teens who are charged as adults in the Brewer case have pleaded not guilty to second degree murder charges.
Burned FL teen speaks for first time since attack
Michael Brewer wants french fries, in a sign that he’s coming back. Read more
Burned teen 911 call released: we’re all ’snitches’ now
Family members hold a picture of Deerfield Beach teenager Michael Brewer, who was set on fire by a group of middle school classmates.
The vicious beat-down that killed an honors student in Chicago … the spray shooting of a party in Overtown that killed an aspiring nurse and a high school senior with a full scholarship letter from UCLA waiting for him at home … and now the unbelievable attack on a 15-year-old by six of his schoolmates, who doused him with rubbing alcohol and set him on fire, because he told someone that one of them tried to steal his father’s bike … there’s a pernicious, and I think it’s fair to say evil, unethical strain running through out culture, and if you dig into each of these shootings, you’re sure to find one word somewhere at the bottom of the barrell: “snitch.”
A snitch used to mean a guy who participates in a crime and then gives up his buddies to save his own neck. Now, the way the word has been popularized in American culture, it means anyone who reports a crime, even if they’re the victim. And there are sociopaths of all ages (even kids) walking around our neighborhoods with all sorts of pathologies and issues, killing, or attempting to kill, people because they’ve told the truth.
The audio below should be played for every teenager in America. And how ever many of us haven’t been completely stripped of our morality, turned into so many grubby Gosselins or hot air balloon publicity hounds or teabagging lunatics, should band together and pledge to “snitch” on every bastard who threatens to further destabilize our already unstable society. Listen, if you can get through it, to the screams of a kid who spoke up, and who still might pay for it with his life. Michael Brewer is 15 — and 15 is just a kid, as you’ll hear from his screams after jumping into a pool, on fire. **WARNING: This audio will make you cry (or at least it should…)
911 call: teen burnedConnect
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