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Teens Denied Bail In Party Death

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Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: August 2, 2008

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Mendola

Mihailovic

Two teenagers must stay in jail while facing charges they murdered an 18-year-old high school student during a brawl outside an underage drinking party, a judge ruled.

Private attorneys for Simon Mihailovic and Michael John Mendola, both 17, unsuccessfully argued that the Riverview High School students should be given a bond because they were not a flight risk.

County Judge David Denkin, presiding over the teenagers' first court appearance this morning, deferred to a recommendation of no bond from the circuit judge who will preside over the cases and signed the arrest warrants.

Mendola, wearing the same yellow shirt he was arrested in Friday, turned his head to the left and gave a small eye roll when he heard he would not have a chance to go home that day. Mihailovic appeared in a blue jail jumpsuit.

Prosecutors told the judge that the teenagers had already fled once, from the scene of the early-morning street brawl.

Authorities say witnesses identify Mihailovic and Mendola as the boys who beat Sarasota High School student Gregory Kennedy on Tuesday until he was unconscious.

The medical examiner determined the death was caused by any one of three blows to Kennedy's head, and found no wounds indicating Kennedy defended himself or was an aggressor in the fight, Assistant State Attorney Matt Sandburg told the judge.

Mendola's attorney said the teenager was not a risk to flee if given a $25,000 bond and any other conditions the judge would require, such as home detention.

Mendola worked at Subway for the past month, knew police were looking to arrest him for the past week and has only a "minor criminal history" of one disorderly conduct charge he faced in juvenile court.

"If he was going to flee, he would have fled already," attorney Drew Solnoki said.

Mihailovic asked for a $50,000 bond. The teenager has no criminal record, defense attorney Jim Dirmann said. And although Mihailovic and his parents are from Yugoslavia, they have green cards for permanent residency in the United States.

"There's no indication he would have any means to flee the area or any reason to believe he would," said Dirmann, who was hired to represent Mihailovic for just this hearing.

Victim Was Defenseless, Deputies Say

The fight happened outside a party thrown for a Sarasota High School wrestler's 17th birthday, where the parents who apparently hosted the party kicked out a teenager who was causing trouble.

That teenager, Logan Waggoner, returned later with 10 people, including one with a baseball bat and another with a stick, and punched out a window, authorities say.

Once the window broke, a number of the people inside the party raced outside and began to brawl. Kennedy and Mendola squared off during the fight, even though they barely knew each other, according to two teenagers who were at the fight.

A punch to the head knocked Kennedy down, and he was kicked back down when he tried to stand, authorities say.

Deputies say Kennedy was then defenseless in the beating, and Mendola and Mihailovic pummeled him until an artery in his neck ruptured and Kennedy stopped breathing.

Soon, 911 calls started trickling in from neighbors, and deputies arrived at 12:26 a.m.

One of the teenagers, who remains unidentified in a 911 call, told a dispatcher: "I just left, there is a kid knocked completely unconscious and not waking up."

Interviews with the three students and deputies' reports show that four friends, including Mihailovic, showed up about 11 p.m. Most in this group were from Riverview and, once they got there, one teenager, Logan Waggoner, started arguing with a student from Sarasota High.

Homeowner Max Herrera told the teenager to leave.

Waggoner refused, and Max and Beverly Herrera "forcefully" removed him from the home, a sheriff's report says.

The Herreras have not spoken publicly about the events that night. But a member of the family says the couple had planned a small party for friends that was not supposed to include alcohol.

Audrey Eaton, Beverly Herrera's mother, said that her daughter and Max Herrera had spent several weeks planning a surprise celebration for their son, Robert, at Sarasota Lanes Bowling Alley. They invited about eight other students.

After bowling, the group went back to the Herreras' home on Lalani Boulevard, and the party grew.

Eaton says that the couple did not give the teenagers alcohol, but that some of the students brought it to the house.

Max and Beverly Herrera were both at the house the whole time, as was Max's brother, said Eaton, who came forward Friday with details about the party because she wanted to tell her family's side. She said Max and Robert have declined to comment on the advice of their attorney.

"The whole family's been crying from Day 1, including Max," Eaton said. "He's very upset."

It was not unusual for the teenagers to be hanging out at the Herrera house. One friend said small groups hung out there often because his parents welcomed them.

Spirits 'Beaten'

About 250 people took part in a vigil late Friday at Phillippi Shores Elementary School, where mourners remembered the gregarious, funny teenager. Many cried and called for justice.

"Our hearts were ripped out of our chests," said Kennedy's father, Roland. "And our spirit has been beaten down into the ground, just like he was."

Kicked out, Mihailovic and his friends drove to McDonald's on Bee Ridge Road. They called some more friends -- including Mendola and his older brother -- and hatched a plan to go back to the house party and get revenge, authorities say.

According to authorities, four cars pulled up to the house. Eleven people got out. One carried a baseball bat. Another carried a stick. Waggoner, the teenager who was kicked out of the party, punched through a window and suffered a deep cut on his hand. He was taken to Doctor's Hospital.

Once the window broke, a number of the people inside the party raced outside and began to brawl.

Kennedy was among them, as were the Herreras.

Eaton, Robert Herrera's grandmother, said that Max and Beverly Herrera tried to pull the teenagers off one another and Max was pounced upon. Max Herrera went to the emergency room on Wednesday, Eaton says, and was found to have a concussion.

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