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Florida teens charged with setting boy on fire due back in court

By the CNN Wire Staff
Michael Brewer was hospitalized for more than two months after he was set on fire in a dispute over money for a video game.
Michael Brewer was hospitalized for more than two months after he was set on fire in a dispute over money for a video game.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Lawyers representing the teens rejected plea deals in October,
  • The three defendants have been charged as adults with attempted murder
  • The burned teen celebrated his 16th birthday in October

Fort Lauderdale, Florida (CNN) -- Three teenagers suspected of setting another boy on fire are expected to be back in a Florida courtroom Wednesday.

The three teens -- Denver Jarvis and Mathew Bent, both now 16, and Jesus Mendez, now 17 -- have been charged as adults with second-degree attempted murder.

Lawyers representing the teens rejected plea deals in October. Judge Michael Robinson is expected to consider several defense motions during the hearing.

Jarvis and Bent could each face prison sentences between six and 30 years. Mendez could face up to 50 years in prison for the attack that took place in Deerfield Beach.

In court, prosecutors revealed that in exchange for guilty pleas, they had been willing to offer the defendants reduced sentences.

Maria Schneider, the state prosecutor told Judge Jeffrey Levenson that the state offered Jarvis and Bent 10 years in the Florida State Prison System and 10 years probation. Mendez was offered 15 years in prison, along with 10 years probation, she said. Mendez has admitted using the lighter that set Michael Brewer ablaze.

His attorney told the court that prosecutors had originally offered her client 10 years in prison, not 15.

"We're not doing anything today, your honor," Mendez's attorney, Melissa Zelniker-Presser, said in October.

2009: Burned teen heads home
2010: Burned teen celebrates birthday
2010: Accused teens reject plea deal

The three teens are accused of pouring alcohol over Brewer, now 16, and setting him on fire in 2009, after a dispute over $40 to buy a video game. He suffered burns over 65 percent of his body and was hospitalized for more than two months.

Detectives say one of the boys, Bent, demanded $40 he said Brewer owed him, and when he didn't pay, Bent allegedly stole a bicycle belonging to Brewer's father. Brewer fingered Bent to police, who arrested the teen.

The next day, after Bent was released, the gang found Brewer and allegedly surrounded him. Police say witnesses have told them his attackers called him a "snitch."

Detectives say eyewitnesses told them that then-15-year-old Jarvis poured alcohol over Brewer and then-16-year-old Mendez used a lighter to start the fire. Bent allegedly encouraged the attack.

Mendez has admitted setting Brewer on fire, and that he made a "bad decision," according to an arrest transcript.

Brewer ran about 100 yards and dived into an apartment complex pool to save himself.

CNN's Rich Phillips contributed to this report.