A young man from Georgia was reportedly “tortured and humiliated” by teenagers at a party on St. Simons Island last week, according to his family and friends. Trenton “Trent” Lehrkamp, 19, is recovering slowly in an intensive care unit at Southeast Georgia Health Center in Brunswick, and his friends and family are demanding that he be given a fair trial.
Janelle Tucker, Trent’s aunt, said, “That simply has made me sick to my stomach.“I don’t want to get into details, but he was, I feel, honestly tortured.” A group of teenagers Lehrkamp was hanging out with on Tuesday allegedly pressured him to drink and consume drugs to the point of intoxication.
Lehrkamp had recently graduated from Glynn Academy High School. A photo of what looks to be an unconscious Lehrkamp tied to a chair and coated in spray paint has been making the rounds online. There are four young men standing behind him, and some of them are giving the camera the finger.
Another video allegedly shot four days prior, depicts Lehrkamp sitting in a chair while he is sprayed with a water hose. The footage shows no one intervening to halt the abuse. “I think that just goes to show these boys have been continuously mistreating and abusing Trent,” Tucker said.
On the evening of March 21, three minors accompanied Lehrkamp to the hospital, as reported by the Glynn County Police Department. They checked out after registering, though. Police stated Lehrkamp was so drunk he was hardly breathing. Officers who arrived on the scene saw spray paint on Lehrkamp but found no further injuries.
Since then, detectives have spoken with various partygoers and amassed information pertinent to that evening. On Sunday night, they visited Lehrkamp in the hospital and conducted an interview. During his admission to the hospital, he has been using a ventilator.
Owen (who did not provide a surname) had been a friend of Lehrkamp’s since they were both ten years old. “He’s hanging out with these high school kids who are not his friends,” Owen said.
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According to Owen, Lehrkamp was depressed and yearning for companions, despite the fact that he is not on the autism spectrum as several media sites have stated. He expressed his desire for formal charges and thorough prosecution of those responsible.
“They need to learn their lesson from this,” Owen said. “It’s crazy.” Almost a hundred individuals showed up late Monday night at the Southeast Georgia Health System to demand answers. “What happened to him was beyond human,” said one teen.
“He’s like the nicest, sweetest kid, and for this to happen to him after everything he’s been through is the worst thing imaginable,” said another teen. The vigil that was held outside the hospital was arranged by Theawanza Brooks.
A Black man named Ahmaud Arbery was killed in 2020 in the outskirts of Brunswick, and she is his aunt. His murderers, who were eventually brought to justice, evaded capture for 74 days.
GRAPHIC: 19-year-old in ICU after being ‘tortured’ by teens at party, family says https://t.co/cjsiItYU3o pic.twitter.com/a54iDZsfwz
— azfamily 3TV CBS 5 (@azfamily) March 29, 2023
“Glynn County has a history of corruption. It starts at the top and works down to the bottom and when you have money in our community, money pays off a lot of these situations,” Brooks said. “We’re going to fight until Trenton gets the justice that he deserves.”
The following statement was issued Monday evening by a Glynn County Police Department spokesperson: The Glynn County Police Department (GCPD) is continuing its investigation into an incident involving juveniles on St. Simons Island on March 21. The Criminal Investigation Division (CID) and Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) have conducted interviews with the involved parties and obtained statements to further the investigation based on established facts. Individuals have been identified in video footage and further interviews are being conducted. Detectives have interviewed and taken a statement from Trent Lehrkamp at the hospital.
Working with the GBI, electronic evidence which has been recovered is being analyzed for information regarding the current incident as well as any previous incidents which had not been previously reported. Law enforcement has been actively investigating information brought forth by the public as it continues the investigation.
The Glynn County Police Department has been in close contact with the Glynn County School Board, the Glynn County District Attorney’s Office, the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations throughout this investigation.
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