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Week In Sarasota Begins With Party, Ends With Vigil

Photo from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Friends describe Gregory Kennedy as funny and adventurous.

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By ANTHONY CORMIER and TIFFANY LANKES

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: August 1, 2008

- The party that preceded the fatal beating of Gregory Kennedy started small, with about a dozen Sarasota High School friends celebrating star wrestler Robert Herrera's birthday on Monday.

The party was hosted by Herrera's father, Max Herrera, at the family's home in the 3500 block of Lalani Boulevard. Max Herrera was the only adult at the party, said several teenagers who were there.

But the party ended with a brawl involving Riverview High School students during which Kennedy suffered a severe head injury. He was rushed to a hospital but was taken off life support Wednesday and died.

As the investigation continued Thursday, authorities confirmed that many of the teenagers at the party had been drinking alcohol. Several students were questioned a second time, and at least one of the Riverview teenagers has hired a lawyer.

Detectives are also investigating the role Max Herrera played as the adult supervisor of the party.

The evening started with the Sarasota High teenagers listening to rap music and drinking beer, witnesses say. Sometime around midnight, a group of students from Riverview High School called and asked whether they could stop by.

The size of the party doubled when the Riverview group arrived, and it included a few teenagers who did not get along with some of the Sarasota teenagers, whom they had scuffled with before.

Several of the teenagers quarreled soon after they arrived, and witnesses say Max Herrera ordered the Riverview students out of his house.

Once outside, the groups continued to exchange words, and some members of the group came to blows.

The Riverview group got in their cars and left. As they drove down Lalani Boulevard, one of them shouted, "This ain't over."

About a half-hour later, four sport utility vehicles arrived at the Herrera home. Out jumped at least 12 teenagers, one armed with a baseball bat, several witnesses said.

They banged on the door and smashed in a front window.

That prompted the Sarasota High students, including Kennedy, to run outside and confront the Riverview group.

As many as 25 students were swinging wildly and kicking at one another, according to several students who were there. It is unclear whether anyone was hit with the baseball bat, and several students say that the weapon was discarded during the brawl.

"A lot of people were running around and jumping up and down and screaming," said Tai Nguyen, a wrestler who met Kennedy through Robert Herrera.

Kennedy was quick to come to his friends' aid, Nguyen said.

"He was just trying to help his friends and stuff. He just tried to pull people off who were jumping into the fight," Nguyen said.

"Then I saw Greg being carried to the side."

Neighbors called 911.

When deputies arrived at about 12:30 a.m., Kennedy was not breathing. He was briefly revived and flown to a trauma unit in St. Petersburg. He spent the day in the hospital and died Wednesday, after he was removed from life support.

Deputies began taking statements from the students and Max Herrera. Some of the teenagers smelled of alcohol.

"You could tell that some of the kids had been drinking," sheriff's office spokesman Lt. Chuck Lesaltato said.

Some of the students who witnessed the fight said tensions between the two groups had been building for about two months and may have revolved around a girl.

Sarasota and Riverview high schools are intense rivals, especially when it comes to sports. But several students familiar with Monday's brawl said they do not think the rivalry was a factor. School officials also said they do not believe the fight was indicative of a larger problem between Riverview and Sarasota.

The two high schools have always had a healthy athletic rivalry between them, but nothing that ever became violent, district spokesman Scott Ferguson said. In fact, instances of graffiti and other less serious issues have actually become less of a problem in the past few years, he said.

Still, Ferguson added that administrators and staff will be talking to students and monitoring the situation to see whether they need to address a larger problem.

The school district plans to have extra guidance counselors available at Riverview and Sarasota high schools when classes resume this month.

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