Trial begins in student's fatal beating

LARGO -- It was a familiar scene to many high school students. A student is taunted, a challenge is made, and students gather for a fistfight.

But this scene turned tragic in October 2001 when a blow to the face of 16-year-old James Dean Brier snapped his head back and tore an artery leading to his head. He died within minutes.

Testimony in the manslaughter trial of former Manatee High School student John A. Acosta, 19, opened in Pinellas Circuit Court on Tuesday after more than a day of jury selection in the Manatee County case.

A Manatee judge agreed to move the case to Pinellas from Bradenton because lawyers said extensive publicity made getting a fair trial there difficult.

This is the second trial for Acosta, who was 17 when the fight took place. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. The first trial, held in Manatee, ended with a mistrial in August when jurors said they were deadlocked.

Prosecutor Dawn Buff told jurors in opening statements that Acosta punched Brier and repeatedly smashed his head into the pavement.

Brier's "body became limp and lifeless while it was in the control of John Acosta," Buff said. "Mr. Brier clearly was not fighting back."

But defense attorney Russell Silverstein said prosecutors won't be able to prove that Acosta threw the fatal punch. Other teenagers at the fight could have done the same, he said.

In any case, he said, Brier was the aggressor in the fight and suggested, if punches were thrown by Acosta, it was justifiable.

"He went looking for a fight," Silverstein said of Brier.

The incident's roots stem from a drunken party two months before Brier's death. Brier drank too much and did things he came to regret, prosecutors say, including taking off his clothes and performing jumping jacks.

Relatives say Brier was trying to impress other students that he was bold enough to join an exclusive club. Instead, students began taunting him. Some say that group included Acosta.

The trial is expected to last through the week.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright