Ill. Teens Plead in Beer-Can Beating
AP , Edwardsville: Apr 4 2008
Made Popular Apr 4 2008

Two Illinois teens face up to 20 years in prison for the fatal beating of a homeless man over a can of beer.

Seventeen-year-old Joseph Lee Raines and 18-year-old Brandon Carol Bouck pleaded guilty Thursday to second-degree murder. In exchange, prosecutors dropped first-degree murder charges.

Prosecutor Susan Jensen says testimony would have shown that the Granite City teens told a friend they punched and kicked Thomas Muffler last October.

Jensen says Muffler had refused to buy the teens beer. After the beating, the teens stole a 24-ounce can of beer from Muffler.

Authorities say Muffler suffered broken ribs that penetrated a lung.

A sentencing date hasn’t been scheduled.

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