Teen Takes Plea Deal In Killian Stabbing

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A South Florida teen accused of stabbing a classmate at Killian Senior High School earlier this year has taken a plea deal from the state.

During a hearing Tuesday, 17-year-old Brihanna Rolle entered a plea of guilty to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon causing great bodily harm. In return she was sentenced to a secure, residential treatment facility until its determined it is safe to release her.

"The respondent will be adjudicated delinquent and committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice to include conditional release thereafter at a maximum risk residential program," said Miami-Dade juvenile court Judge Angelica Zayas.

Rolle is being treated for depression and anxiety.

Last March, Rolle repeatedly stabbed sophomore and football player Deandre Johnson, 15, with a butcher knife near the school's cafeteria. Classmates shot cell phone video of Deandre after his attacker cut his upper body with a large knife. A nearby girl held a shirt to a punctured artery. Johnson credits her with saving his life.

Security restrained Rolle right after the attack. Police charged her with the stabbing and found two additional knives and a grilling fork in her backpack.

At the time, Deandre's family said they didn't understand why Rolle singled him out. The said they had a class together but they really didn't know each other.

An attorney for Rolle said his client was reportedly raped by football players at Keys Gate Charter High School in Homestead. She was then transferred to Killian where she was allegedly bullied and ridiculed.

Johnson and his family agreed to the plea arrangement.

"This young girl had some problems," said attorney Judd Rosen, who represents the victim and his family.  "She has accepted responsibility within the criminal justice system for what she did."

The victim's parents have sent the Miami-Dade school system a letter of intent to sue.  They believe the school system knew of Brihanna's prior issues with football players, knew that she was mentally unbalanced, and failed to get her help or adequately protect their son and other students.

"They were on notice," Rosen said, and they failed to act.