Grand jury to investigate killing of West Boca teen by neighbor

West Boca · Tears and inconsolable grief were not enough to hide the anger and disbelief among almost 300 friends and relatives who gathered at a Catholic Church on Sunday afternoon to pray for a beloved teen shot to death in a prank gone awry just hours after his 16th birthday party.

Mark Drewes, out with a friend ringing doorbells along Woodbury Road about 12:30 a.m. Saturday, was shot by a neighbor, Jay Steven Levin, 40. Levin, permitted for 12 years to own a concealed handgun, told police he shot Drewes thinking he was a burglar.

"Why is this man not in jail? These kids are going to be trick-or-treating in a couple of days. What happens when they knock on his door then?" said Laura Twomey, whose son Sean, was a lifelong friend of Mark's.

"We have signs up saying `Beware of Dog,'" said Carol Quiroga, who lives across from Levin and called 911 when she heard a gunshot Saturday. "There should be signs that read `Beware of Gun.'" she said.

The teen's mother, Luciana Drewes, was distraught and said outside her home Sunday that she could not understand why her son had been killed.

Authorities on Sunday were quick to say they understood the anger in the community but had to let an investigation by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office proceed before charges, if any, could be determined.

"What I can say?" said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Diane Carhart. "It's an unfortunate situation for everyone involved."

She went on to explain that Levin, who was not arrested, did not appear to be a flight risk. Levin bought his home, seven doors down from the Drewes, almost seven years ago. He operated a business out of the home, Caxin Consulting Inc., but dissolved it in August, records show.

"I'm quite sure that everyone was upset," Carhart said. But "the detectives know where this individual is."

Levin, described by neighbors as single and a tax accountant who enjoys using personal watercraft on weekends, was not available for comment on Sunday. Neighbors also said he was an unassuming man who kept to himself but would chat with them on occasion.

"We would talk tools and politics," said Rob Houfek, a Boca Del Mar neighbor on whose lawn Mark collapsed. Syringe casings left by paramedics who tried to save the boy's life where they found him Saturday were still on the grass. Houfek, the father of two boys, expressed skepticism at Levin's self-defense claim to investigators.

"I don't think you shoot to kill when it's a kid running away from you," he said, echoing the many family members and friends who claim Drewes had been shot in the back.

Carhart said she could not confirm where Drewes had been shot, nor would she identify what type of gun was used.

Dispatchers got one of their first 911 calls from Levin at 12:32 p.m., Carhart said. "He relayed everything that had happened," she said.

Like friends and neighbors, Carhart also would not identify the minor who was with Drewes on their "Ding-Dong Ditch" prank.

The teen, flanked by several adults, attended the Mass in Drewes' honor at St. Jude's Catholic Church Sunday afternoon. But he would not comment or give his name, except to say, "He [Mark] was shot in the back. That's confirmed."

Mike Edmondson, spokesman for the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, also said the community's anger over the case was "understandable."

Generally speaking, he said, State Attorney Barry Krischer would take the evidence gathered by sheriff's detectives and do one of three things: determine that the use of force was justifiable and close the case; determine that it was unjustified and bring charges; or present the case to a grand jury to determine whether any charges should be filed.

Edmondson said the State Attorney's Office would be looking at a lot of evidence, including ballistics, the results of the autopsy by the county medical examiner and interviews with Levin and witnesses.

In such cases, he said, homeowners have a right to defend themselves if they believe their physical safety or their property is at risk. The general rule is that level of force must be only what is needed to counter or neutralize the threat.

That means "if somebody is standing on your front porch and smacking you, it would be an escalation of force to pull out a gun and shoot them," he said.

Officials with the Sheriff's Office expect the case to be presented to a grand jury, sheriff's spokeswoman Carhart said.

At the church, the 300 mourners included students from Pope John Paul II High School and members of the Brazilian community, some of whom knew the teen's mother, Luciana Drewes and his aunt, Renata Deiser, both of whom are from Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Drewes' father, George, said by neighbors to be a private boat captain, was away on business but expected home soon.

Many of Drewes' classmates first heard the news Saturday night at the school's homecoming dance.

The school president, Father Guy Fiano, said Sunday that he expected Monday's return to class would be full of grieving and heartache as his students and faculty remembered Drewes. He said there would be no special memorial until after a funeral was held.

"It's not an easy thing to see our kids in pain. Their hearts are broken right now," Fiano said. "Students will need to depend on each other to make each other strong."

"He was a funny kid, always kind of in the background, a bit on the shy side, but an absolute doll," said Margaret Lombardi, who was Drewes' English teacher at St. Jude Middle School. "This is a real family, this neighborhood," she added. "People should be expecting doorbells to ring."

Drewes' godfather, Dominick LePore, remembered the youth for his courtesy toward adults, his quiet generosity and his involvement in Life Teen, a program for young people at St. Jude's. Drewes and Lepore's 15-year-old son, AJ, had been good friends since the third grade, and were both sophomores together at Pope John Paul II High School.

"It's so hard to think I'd need to know these things one day, so early on in our lives," AJ said when asked about his friend. "He loved playing with his remote cars."

Of Ding-Dong Ditch, he said, "We'd ring the bell and hide behind the bushes till the person came out. Then we'd giggle and run off."

AJ had spent part of the evening at Mark's birthday party and St. Jude's Fall Fest before indulging in their doorbell ringing game. AJ went home before the shooting.

Michael Bowman, who taught Mark confirmation and led his Life Teen group at the church, wept and embraced students and friends at the church on Sunday.

"He knew how to live life because he didn't take it too seriously," Bowman said.

On a recent Life Teen trip to Orlando, Bowman remembered how Drewes and several other boys wrapped a car in toilet paper to get the attention of girls. "He was one of our kids," Bowman said.

Mark Drewes was supposed to spend Sunday going for a drive on his new motorized scooter -- his godfather's present to him for his 16th birthday. He was supposed to go to the hobby shop with friends to buy parts for the remote-control cars he owned and treasured. On Sunday, the scooter that lay idle on his family's stone footpath.

Funeral arrangements were not final Sunday, according to the Babione Funeral Home in Boca Raton.

"People should be expecting doorbells to ring."

At 12;30 a.m.? If I hear a noise that causes me to get up to investigate once I've gone to bed I take a gun. I'd definately take one if the doorbell rang at that time of night. I would assume that someone would try to come in the back door while I was answering the front.

That means "if somebody is standing on your front porch and smacking you, it would be an escalation of force to pull out a gun and shoot them," he said.

*** *** ****

WRONG: It is dependent on the person. If a woman is being raped, she is allowed to respond with shooting her assailant. If someone is beating the poop out of you, you are allowed to shoot back to even the odds. You are NOT required to sit there and bleed and endure broken bones because of legal techincality.

The fact that this was passed to the grand jury sounds like serious ducking of responsibility.

As for the kid confirming the man shooting in the back, we have ZERO official confirmation. These are the same kids who are saying this sick prank was harmless fun.

It should also be noted that the nice neiborhoods are prime targets for home invasion robbers in FL. Everyone should expect a homeowner to answer their door armed at 12:30 in the middle of the night.

In the 80's there was a period when people in south flordia had a big threat from home invaders.

""We'd ring the bell and hide behind the bushes till the person came out. Then we'd giggle and run off." "

If these people were hiding in bushes next to someones door at midnight+, that was STUPID. A disoriented person, having just been woken up by pounding on the door, and seeing movement in the bushes, might very well shoot. Heck, even wide awake, it would be hard to let the moving shadow come out and shoot you first.

Better read this carefully. The shooter is in deep trouble. I have been to the crime scene and traced Mark's path. He was shot running away, in the back! All the nonsense about home invasion does not apply here. They were NEIGHBORS. The boys rang numerous bells and the other neighbors saw it for the prank it was. We will wait but the truth will come out that this was murder.

That means "if somebody is standing on your front porch and smacking you, it would be an escalation of force to pull out a gun and shoot them," he said.

Bull$#!T, it is a valid response. Someone comes on your property and assaults you they should expect to DIE!

Which would explain why the police did not arrest him. I bet there were footprints in the bushes. The news showed a shot of the front door. It was a single door recessed in an atrium with solid sides. It would be easy to have the manure scared out of you if there was more than one voice.

You would only have a second to distinguish between home invaders with accomplices in the bushes and whatever it is with people in the bushes next to the front door.

He was severely assaulted by a kid who was running away!

Hey braintrust I was addressing the comment in the article that I referenced. I don't know the facts of this case and cannot comment on it intelligently. I just heard a partial story, very partial. That won't stop you I am sure.

Horse Manure. Your friend was a fool and the fact that they were pulling this prank is a huge stupidity.

There is NO official confirmation of the back shot BUT the mere fact of a back shot IS NOT equal to a conviction. The article cites that there were additional people in the bushes. Creating an apprehension of harm is equal to having the actual abilty to do harm to the victim.

This man who lived alone is the victim in this case. He was the target. The fact that he responded AS IS HIS RIGHT is a consequence your "friend" will have to live with for the rest of his life.

You went and tresspassed at a crime scene? I don't buy it.

The truth will come out and I'd bet the guy saw something moving and couldn't tell if it was moving towards him or away. If the porch light was on he probably couldn't see into the bushes. If it was off he could see even less.

Regardless he will not be charged with murder. He didn't answer his door intending to kill someone.

Is proof of a bullet in the back "tainting" of the jury pool? Is the trail of blood beginning nowhere near the shooter's front door "tainting" the jury pool? Before you start talking garbage, you better wait for the facts to be made public. I have been to the crime scene with the other mourners last night and what you're saying is uninformed.

Durham62 is my son. We were among many who were there "in the street" not on his property, but in front of the house. Your claim that he will not face a murder charge is not something I would bank on. When the facts are out on where the shooter was and where the young man was at the instant of the shooting, you will have a different opinion if you are of an open mind.

Since the article is practically devoid of useful information, being just a two-hankie sob piece, I will wait until there are some FACTS available before commenting n this one.

I would like to know more about the shooter's past history (eg, has he been burglarized/robbed/assaulted in the past?) and any previous encounters he mayy have had with these teenagers..

Sounds like a sad case, any way you look at it.

"durham62
Since Oct 26, 2003"

Welcome aboard, newbie.

As a newbie, you must understand that you have absolutely no credibility yet, and therefore most of us will wait for the results of an official investigation before we convict some guy who could very well have been defending his home against a perceived threat.

OTOH, how stupid does a kid have to be, in these days of crack and meth addicts breaking into homes on a routine basis, many times killing, raping, injuring the homeowners, to play juvenile little ring-and-run pranks at 12:30 in the morning? How irresponsible are parents when they don't impress upon their little angels the importance of not doing things that could get them killed very easily?

Sorry, I'll wait 'til I get the full story before I convict this guy.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

Please! Florida prosecutors have a reputation of trying to twist law. If you read my answer instead of being close minded, you would see I was adressing the prosecutor's misstatement of law. (prosecutors also try to confuse a jury by asking for a fair trial. A trial is UNfair to the prosecutor BY LAW because the prosecutor has the unfair burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt)

EVEN IF the tresspasser was shot in the back, that does not equal a conviction. Your emotions are clouding you. Take a lesson and drop this game from your routine.

If you were really serious you would see this as an accident caused by a CRUEL prank.

BTW for those who do not live in Boca Raton FL, most people do not know their neighbors. In fact it is quite probably this homeowner was totally unaware of this "tradition".

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