FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) _ The alleged ringleader in an attack that severely burned a Florida teenager is seeking a change of venue for trial because of heavy local media coverage.
The attorney for 17-year-old Matthew Bent suggested in a court filing Tuesday that the trial be held in Jacksonville.
Attorney Gordon Weekes suggested as an alternative that jurors be chosen in Jacksonville and then brought to Fort Lauderdale for the trial.
Weekes says the intense coverage will make it impossible for Bent to receive a fair trial in South Florida.
Bent is charged with attempted second-degree murder in the 2009 attack on Michael Brewer, who was doused with rubbing alcohol and set ablaze.
Two other youths have pleaded no contest and were sentenced to prison.
Bent faces up to 30 years if convicted.
