ORLANDO, Fla. – Two teens charged in connection with the beating death of a 15-year-old boy in Winter Park appeared before a judge Wednesday.
Jesse Sutherland, 15, and Simeon Hall, 15, were arrested on manslaughter charges in the October death of Roger Trindade.
A judge ruled Wednesday that Sutherland and Hall could be released from custody and placed on home detention. Both teens will be monitored by GPS devices.
"They gonna be free and I don't have my boy back and these are dangerous boys," Roger Trindade's mother, Adriana Trindade told News 6.
The judge set a trial date of Feb. 24.
"I wish they (would) leave those boys ... a lot of time in jail to think about what they're doing wrong," Trindade said.
Roger Trindade was found unconscious on the night of Oct. 15 in the popular Winter Park shopping and dining area near Central Park. He died after being taken off life support.
Trindade's mother and sister testified against the release of the teens in court.
"My son, he died for nothing. For fun? This is insane," Trindade said, adding that her family moved to the United States from Brazil to be safe. "(Roger) was going to be a nice father, a nice husband and now he's not going to be anything."
"They will never pay as we are paying," said Trindade's sister, Laura Thome Koch.
Sutherland's father told the judge his son was bullied in the detention center. He also said his son lost 16 pounds while in custody.
State prosecutors said Hall and a group of people "ganged up" on a homeless person a day before he was arrested. The state said he lied to police, giving them a false name because he was afraid he would get in trouble because of the Trindade case.
A 14-year-old boy faces a charge of tampering with a witness. He will back in court Thursday for a plea-status hearing.
As part of their release conditions, Sutherland and Hall are not allowed to have any contact with any of the defendants, Trindade's family or any witnesses. The judge said if they violate the terms of their release, they could end up back at the juvenile detention center.
Legal expert Steven Kramer told News 6 the judge had to weigh several factors in her decision, including if the suspects pose a threat to the community, if they are flight risks, or if they were in any danger while in custody at the detention center. He said the court's goal is to keep juvenile offenders safe and rehabilitate them.
"The goal is to basically to punish them, but in a way that keeps them from committing crime in the future, that rehabilitates them, and makes them productive members of the community," Kramer said.
Sutherland was arrested in Virginia and the other suspects were arrested in Orange County, police said