FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A Florida judge has refused, for now, to grant a new trial for the alleged ringleader in an attack in which a teenager was drenched in alcohol and set on fire.
A Broward County judge ruled Tuesday that 18-year-old Matthew Bent does not deserve retrial in the 2009 attack on Michael Brewer, who was then 15. But another hearing is set on potential problems with jury deliberations that could also lead to a new trial.
Two other teenagers are already serving prison time for the attack.
Bent was originally charged with attempted second-degree murder, but a jury in June convicted him of a lesser aggravated battery charge. That carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence.
Bent sought a new trial because the original judge overseeing the case stepped aside before sentencing.
