Homicide of Sean Taylor, NFL Washington Redskins Safety

[anzypantz]

http://www.miamiherald.com/606/story/322222.html


My dog is actually named after him and we just got her his jersey, #21.  After the birth of his daughter, Sean Taylor really gave all to his family.  Due to his high mistrust of the media, who often portrayed Sean as living a thuggish lifestyle, Sean never negated any of the presumptions printed about him.  His chosen privacy and silence wrongly suggested that media information was correct.  Though his passive tactics preserved Sean's peace of mind, the general public was inclined to believe any media information.

Regardless of personal feelings, this case has the great scaredmonkeys fact pattern that we all seem to crave daily.  About 1 wk ago, Sean's girlfriend and infant daughter were staying at Sean's house in Florida.  Police responded to a call from Sean's girlfriend stating that someone attempted to break into the property.  Although no items were taken, a kitchen knife was left on Sean's pillow.  At approximately 1:45 am Monday, Sean and his girlfriend awoke to suspicious noises outside their home.  Sean told his girlfriend to take their daughter and hide.  Sean grabbed a knife and went to investigate the sounds.  Although what happened next is not entirely clear, it is believed that two intruders entered the home and fired two shots.  One bullet went astray while the other hit Sean in the leg, severing a major artery.  The two men flew and took nothing.  Sean's girlfriend called 911 and Sean was helicoptered to the hospital.  The next hours were touch and go, with moments of hope when Sean began squeezing fingers and responding to various stimuli.  Sadly, the blood loss was just too much for his body to handle, and Sean passed on.  

Although I do have a personal connection to this case, I still find the facts riveting and quite incomplete.  It will most definitely be interesting to see how this case unfolds....

[anzypantz]

Hoping to fix my spelling error on the Redskins....please advise if this does not work, thx!

[MumInOhio]

hi anzypantz.....caught a little on the cable news last night...I agree, it will be interesting to see how this all pans out. It was said that he lived in a relatively low crime area. I wonder if he was targeted.


I think you may need to leave Klaas a post in the Monkey Musing thread and she will be able to fix the header for you.

[Nut44x4]

3 suspects from Ft. Myers being held for questioning in death. No link...will provide as soon as I can.

[Nut44x4]

3 detained in Sean Taylor homicide
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_dade/story/326903.html

Miami-Dade detectives have detained two teenagers and a man in his 20s in Lee County for questioning in the death of Washington Redskins football star Sean Taylor.

Investigators believe the young men learned of Taylor's house through someone who unwittingly set up the burglary by bragging about the football star's wealth.

The suspects include 17- and 19-year-olds and a 26-year-old. All hail from the Fort Myers area.

The former University of Miami star was not supposed to be home at the time of the break-in. While the Redskins played in Tampa, he had come home to get a second medical opinion on his injured knee.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents and at least two Miami-Dade homicide squads have been in Fort Myers and they picked up the young men Friday morning.

Taylor was shot early Monday by an intruder who surprised him in the bedroom of his Palmetto Bay home.

Taylor wielded a machete as he tried to protect his fiancée, Jackie Garcia, and their 18-month-old baby girl. The two were hiding under the covers as Taylor was shot.

One bullet pierced the wall. The other struck Taylor in the groin, severing his femoral artery and causing massive blood loss. He died at about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

[pdh3]

It looks like another senseless crime, by a bunch of thugs and losers.

[anzypantz]

4 charged in slaying of Redskins' Taylor By MATT SEDENSKY, Associated Press Writer

 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071202/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_redskins_taylor_slain


MIAMI - Four young men charged with unpremeditated murder in the shooting death of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor have not been strangers to police. Still, nothing came close to what they faced Saturday.

Eric Rivera, 17; Charles Wardlow, 18; Jason Mitchell, 19; and Venjah Hunte, 20, were charged with Taylor's slaying, home invasion with a firearm or another deadly weapon and armed burglary. Police said the suspects were looking for a simple burglary, but it turned bloody when they were startled to find Taylor home.

"They're terrified," said Sawyer Smith, who along with his father, Wilbur, represent Rivera and Mitchell. "These are young boys who are absolutely terrified about the position in which they find themselves."

Police and attorneys for two suspects have said some of the young men confessed, though they wouldn't elaborate. All were arrested Friday in southwest Florida, about 100 miles from here, and all but Mitchell had their first court appearance Saturday and were denied bond. Mitchell was expected to have a hearing at 8:30 a.m. Sunday.

Taylor, the 24-year-old Pro Bowl safety, died Tuesday, one day after being shot at his home in an affluent Miami suburb.

"It's more than greed. Greed is one thing," said Richard Sharpstein, Taylor's former attorney. "They're looking for a quick hit, a couple of thousand bucks here, a couple of thousand there. And for what?"

John Evans, the attorney representing Wardlow, said it's likely all four suspects will be transported to Miami on Sunday. He said his client was reflecting on the gravity of the charges he faces.

"My client has not, I don't think, come to terms with what is being alleged," Evans said. "He's in a position, dressed in the orange jumpsuit over there in the county jail, thinking about his life and thinking about his future. You can only imagine the things going through his mind now."

Wilbur Smith told The News-Press of Fort Myers that because of the confessions, he expects the case to be resolved quickly.

The suspects all have prior arrests, according to Lee County Sheriff's Office records.

Wardlow was arrested twice for selling marijuana and once for grand theft of a vehicle, and Hunte was arrested previously this year on drug and trespassing charges.

Mitchell has been arrested twice, most recently in October on charges of driving with a suspended license and violation of probation. Rivera was arrested in October for trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine, and he previously was behind bars for altering the identification number on a firearm.

On Rivera's MySpace page, he posed for pictures lying in bed with $100 bills strewn atop him and fanning a wad of cash in front of his face. The page is wallpapered with images of money, the text atop it green. The 17-year-old sandwiches his alias, Mr. Florida, between dollar signs and lists counting money among his interests.

Rivera last logged onto his MySpace page sometime Friday, when he rated his mood with an off-color word for angry.

Sharpstein said he had spoken with Taylor's father since the arrests. Though the family was appreciative police had worked so effectively, he said the news provided little relief. A massive public viewing was planned for Sunday in Miami, with the funeral the following day.

"The arrest of Sean's killer provides no comfort or solace to Sean's family," Sharpstein said. "They are grieving and haven't buried their son, boyfriend and father yet."

Early Monday, Taylor and his longtime girlfriend, Jackie Garcia, were awakened by loud noises at his home. He grabbed a machete for protection, but within moments, someone broke through the bedroom door and fired two shots, one hitting Taylor in the upper leg.

Neither the couple's 18-month-old daughter, also named Jackie, nor Garcia were injured.

The bullet damaged the femoral artery in Taylor's leg, causing significant blood loss. He never regained consciousness and died early Tuesday.

Police remain tightlipped about how the suspects wound up at Taylor's home. The Miami Herald reported Mitchell cut the player's lawn and did other chores at the house and that Taylor's sister Sasha dates Wardlow's cousin. The Naples Daily News quoted a woman who identified herself as Jason Mitchell's mother as saying her son was at a birthday party at Taylor's home within the past two months.

Sharpstein said Taylor's sister had a 21st birthday party at her brother's home on Thanksgiving weekend.

In Fort Myers, a woman who identified herself as Wardlow's grandmother but declined to give her name defended the accused. "He's a sweet young man," she said. "I love him to death, and that's it."

Bennie Williams, a neighbor to Wardlow's cousin, said he had seen Taylor's sister Sasha in the area recently.

"She was here all last week for the holidays," he said.

Miami-Dade police wouldn't confirm any of the possible links.

Authorities also haven't said whether they've linked the suspects to a break-in at Taylor's home eight days before the shooting. In that incident, someone pried open a front window, rifled through drawers and left a kitchen knife on a bed.

Police say they're sure, however, that the four suspects didn't expect to kill anyone.

"They were expecting a residence that was not occupied," Miami-Dade County police Director Robert Parker said. "So murder or shooting someone was not their initial motive."

Money, police said, was.

___

Associated Press writers Curt Anderson in Fort Myers and Rasha Madkour in Miami contributed to this report.

[MuffyBee]

4 charged in slaying of Redskins' Taylor By MATT SEDENSKY, Associated Press Writer

 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071202/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_redskins_taylor_slain


MIAMI - Four young men charged with unpremeditated murder in the shooting death of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor have not been strangers to police. Still, nothing came close to what they faced Saturday.

Eric Rivera, 17; Charles Wardlow, 18; Jason Mitchell, 19; and Venjah Hunte, 20, were charged with Taylor's slaying, home invasion with a firearm or another deadly weapon and armed burglary. Police said the suspects were looking for a simple burglary, but it turned bloody when they were startled to find Taylor home.

"They're terrified," said Sawyer Smith, who along with his father, Wilbur, represent Rivera and Mitchell. "These are young boys who are absolutely terrified about the position in which they find themselves."

Police and attorneys for two suspects have said some of the young men confessed, though they wouldn't elaborate. All were arrested Friday in southwest Florida, about 100 miles from here, and all but Mitchell had their first court appearance Saturday and were denied bond. Mitchell was expected to have a hearing at 8:30 a.m. Sunday.

Taylor, the 24-year-old Pro Bowl safety, died Tuesday, one day after being shot at his home in an affluent Miami suburb.

"It's more than greed. Greed is one thing," said Richard Sharpstein, Taylor's former attorney. "They're looking for a quick hit, a couple of thousand bucks here, a couple of thousand there. And for what?"

John Evans, the attorney representing Wardlow, said it's likely all four suspects will be transported to Miami on Sunday. He said his client was reflecting on the gravity of the charges he faces.

"My client has not, I don't think, come to terms with what is being alleged," Evans said. "He's in a position, dressed in the orange jumpsuit over there in the county jail, thinking about his life and thinking about his future. You can only imagine the things going through his mind now."

Wilbur Smith told The News-Press of Fort Myers that because of the confessions, he expects the case to be resolved quickly.

The suspects all have prior arrests, according to Lee County Sheriff's Office records.

Wardlow was arrested twice for selling marijuana and once for grand theft of a vehicle, and Hunte was arrested previously this year on drug and trespassing charges.

Mitchell has been arrested twice, most recently in October on charges of driving with a suspended license and violation of probation. Rivera was arrested in October for trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine, and he previously was behind bars for altering the identification number on a firearm.

On Rivera's MySpace page, he posed for pictures lying in bed with $100 bills strewn atop him and fanning a wad of cash in front of his face. The page is wallpapered with images of money, the text atop it green. The 17-year-old sandwiches his alias, Mr. Florida, between dollar signs and lists counting money among his interests.

Rivera last logged onto his MySpace page sometime Friday, when he rated his mood with an off-color word for angry.

Sharpstein said he had spoken with Taylor's father since the arrests. Though the family was appreciative police had worked so effectively, he said the news provided little relief. A massive public viewing was planned for Sunday in Miami, with the funeral the following day.

"The arrest of Sean's killer provides no comfort or solace to Sean's family," Sharpstein said. "They are grieving and haven't buried their son, boyfriend and father yet."

Early Monday, Taylor and his longtime girlfriend, Jackie Garcia, were awakened by loud noises at his home. He grabbed a machete for protection, but within moments, someone broke through the bedroom door and fired two shots, one hitting Taylor in the upper leg.

Neither the couple's 18-month-old daughter, also named Jackie, nor Garcia were injured.

The bullet damaged the femoral artery in Taylor's leg, causing significant blood loss. He never regained consciousness and died early Tuesday.

Police remain tightlipped about how the suspects wound up at Taylor's home. The Miami Herald reported Mitchell cut the player's lawn and did other chores at the house and that Taylor's sister Sasha dates Wardlow's cousin. The Naples Daily News quoted a woman who identified herself as Jason Mitchell's mother as saying her son was at a birthday party at Taylor's home within the past two months.

Sharpstein said Taylor's sister had a 21st birthday party at her brother's home on Thanksgiving weekend.

In Fort Myers, a woman who identified herself as Wardlow's grandmother but declined to give her name defended the accused. "He's a sweet young man," she said. "I love him to death, and that's it."

Bennie Williams, a neighbor to Wardlow's cousin, said he had seen Taylor's sister Sasha in the area recently.

"She was here all last week for the holidays," he said.

Miami-Dade police wouldn't confirm any of the possible links.

Authorities also haven't said whether they've linked the suspects to a break-in at Taylor's home eight days before the shooting. In that incident, someone pried open a front window, rifled through drawers and left a kitchen knife on a bed.

Police say they're sure, however, that the four suspects didn't expect to kill anyone.

"They were expecting a residence that was not occupied," Miami-Dade County police Director Robert Parker said. "So murder or shooting someone was not their initial motive."

Money, police said, was.

___

Associated Press writers Curt Anderson in Fort Myers and Rasha Madkour in Miami contributed to this report.

If they didn't plan to kill anyone, why did they have a loaded gun with them?  To me, if you take a loaded gun with you, there is a certain amount of intent there to shoot.  When shoot a gun at a person there is a good chance the person you shoot will not only be injured but could die.  Yes, Sean Taylor was shot in the leg, but it hit an area that caused massive bleeding.  I don't buy the "they didn't plan to kill anyone" thing.   Sean's shooting wasn't an accident.  Someone had to bring that loaded gun to his house, break in and point it at him and pull the trigger.  No oops here.  No do overs.  Not a video game.  No restart button.  Sean Taylor was killed in his bedroom.  And there was an innocent woman and child in the same room. They were also endangered.  I am not anti-gun.  I just feel if people are going to go around with a loaded gun and break into a man's house, they shoot and kill him and endanger his family they need to be held responsible.  This wasn't an accident.    Their greed cost a man his life.

[sharon]

http://www.miamiherald.com/858/story/352711.html


Suspects threw Taylor gun in Everglades
Posted on Fri, Dec. 21, 2007l
The Associated Press

MIAMI -- The gun that killed Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor was placed in a sock and thrown into the Everglades, an attorney for one of the suspects said.

The four suspects have filed not guilty pleas to first-degree felony murder and armed burglary charges and are being held without bond. They are due in court for arraignment Friday.

Attorney Michael Hornung said Friday that his client, Venjah Hunte, is cooperating with prosecutors in hopes of a plea deal and wants to help find the murder weapon.

"We have started negotiations and discussions with the prosecutors in this case. Based on his substantial assistance, we hope it would be taken into account," said Hornung, who first gave the information to The Miami Herald.

Hornung said Hunte has told prosecutors that one of his co-defendants got out of the car on the highway known as Alligator Alley in the eastern part of the Everglades. One of the other defendants put the black gun in a sock and threw it about 20 yards onto the side of the road, Hornung said.

He said his client has been a credible witness and was "now filling in some of the missing pieces in this case."

Hornung said Eric Rivera Jr., Charles Wardlow, Jason Mitchell and Hunte, left Fort Myers on Nov. 25, but had no plans when they arrived in the Miami area. When they saw the luxury cars parked at Taylor's home, one of the suspects said the football star kept $200,000 in a black bag in one of the bedrooms.

At least one of the men said he had stolen $5,000 from Taylor's home before, Hornung said.

The suspects thought Taylor, though injured, was still traveling with the team for a game against Tampa that Sunday. They didn't know he was home nursing a knee injury.

They climbed over a fence and broke into a bathroom near the pool with a crowbar. Rivera, 17, and Mitchell, 19, went inside. Minutes later Mitchell ran out claiming he heard a noise, Hornung said.

Rivera persuaded Mitchell to go back inside. A few minutes later, Hunte, 20, heard a gunshot and then a scream inside the house. Mitchell and Rivera came running out and the group left in the car, Hornung said.

Once in Fort Myers, Mitchell and Rivera burned their clothes and masks, the attorney said.

At least two of the defendants have confessed to taking part in the attempted burglary and a grand jury indictment identified Rivera as the one who shot Taylor.

Miami-Dade police declined to comment.

[sharon]

http://www.miamiherald.com/548/story/354130.html


DEATH OF SEAN TAYLOR
Posted on Sat, Dec. 22, 2007
By SUSANNAH A. NESMITH
snesmith@MiamiHerald.com

ALEXIA FODERE / FOR THE MIAMI HERALD

The Miami-Dade state attorney's office asked for a partial gag order Friday to prevent the attorneys for four men accused of killing Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor from talking about the case to the media.

And the attorney for one of the defendants asked Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy to seal the court file. Friday's hearing, scheduled to arraign the four defendants, became more about media coverage of the case than the case itself.

In addition to his motion to seal the file, attorney David Brener said he also wanted the judge to order prosecutors to stop leaking information to Richard Sharpstein, Taylor's former attorney.

Before the hearing was over, The Miami Herald objected to any motions to seal court records.

Murphy set a hearing for Jan. 8 to consider the motions and set a tentative trial date of April 7.

Taylor was shot in the groin during a botched burglary at his Palmetto Bay home on Nov. 26. His girlfriend, Jackie Garcia, and their infant daughter were there at the time. Taylor died the next day.

Jason Mitchell, Eric Rivera, Charles Wardlow and Venjah Hunte, all of the Fort Myers area, have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with Taylor's death. The name of a fifth suspect, who is not in custody, has not been released by police.

After the hearing, Michael Hornung, Hunte's attorney, told television reporters that his client wants to make a deal with prosecutors.

On Thursday, Hornung told The Miami Herald that his client told him the murder weapon was stuffed in a white sock and tossed into the Everglades near the Miccosukee reservation exit off Alligator Alley.

HERALD COVERAGE

Prosecutors referred to Hornung's interview with The Miami Herald in their request that Murphy order the defense attorneys not to reveal anything in the separate statements the four defendants made to police.

Assistant State Attorney Reid Rubin also asked Murphy to allow him to give the media only portions of the confessions when they become public record.

Brener filed a broader motion, asking to seal the court file, claiming the pre-trial publicity had been unfairly prejudicial against Mitchell, his client.

`BELONGS TO ... PUBLIC'

The Miami Herald objected in court to any effort to seal court files or public documents and plans to oppose the motions by the state and the defense.

''What happens in a public courtroom belongs to the public,'' Scott Ponce, an attorney for The Miami Herald, said after the hearing. ``The public has a right to know what happens in a courtroom and what's filed in connection with criminal proceedings that are being done in the public's name.''

Regarding the motion to stop prosecution leaks to Sharpstein, Rubin said prosecutors had not released any information to him.

Sharpstein, reached by telephone at his vacation home out of state, said neither Rubin nor the police had given him any statements.

''I don't know about in Lee County, but in Dade County, as well as the rest of the state of Florida, victims of crimes are allowed to be represented at all stages of a proceeding,'' he said. ``All I was doing was speaking for the Taylor family and the Garcia family.''

The fact that all four defendants have out-of-town attorneys also came up when Brener asked that his client be allowed to come to court hearings in street clothes, instead of a jail jumpsuit and shackles.

CLOTHING ISSUE

''They are presumed innocent,'' Brener told Judge Murphy. ``At this stage of the proceeding for them to walk in here in red jumpsuits and shackled, surrounded by police officers, only contributes to the perception that they are guilty.''

Murphy denied his motion.

''Miami-Dade Corrections transports between 400 and 600 prisoners a day to this building,'' Murphy said. ``We're not going to treat your clients any differently from any other defendants that appear in this building.''

[MuffyBee]

''Miami-Dade Corrections transports between 400 and 600 prisoners a day to this building,'' Murphy said. ``We're not going to treat your clients any differently from any other defendants that appear in this building.''


I like this part, and it is valid, imo. 

[Nut44x4]

The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington)
 
January 4, 2008 Friday

Let Taylor talk rest in peace, too

As the Washington Redskins continue their very public grieving over murdered teammate Sean Taylor, the distinction between mourning the dead and exploiting the dead is becoming ever more blurry.

Before attending the Dec. 3 funeral for the Pro Bowl free safety - an innocent victim in the botched burglary of his South Florida home - the Redskins paid their respects during a stirring pregame tribute culminated by the defense lining up for its first play against Buffalo without a free safety.

Washington players wore No. 21 decals on their helmets - the decals were distributed to players around the NFL - and dedicated the remainder of their season to the talented, once troubled young man who died before those outside the Redskins' headquarters learned of his newfound commitment to responsibility.

But the solemn dignity of the Missing Man tribute has devolved into a maudlin circus that's turned Taylor from a tragic figure into the patron saint of an improbable Super Bowl contender.

It's one thing when the slain safety is commemorated by hats, T-shirts, souvenir magnets and No. 21 rally towels, as proceeds from those sales are being funneled toward a memorial fund the Redskins have established for Taylor's 1-year-old daughter.

On the other hand, what is the team's motive in releasing a depth chart noting that Taylor will start at free safety for the first-round playoff game scheduled Saturday at Qwest Field? We know what happened - we won't ever forget the first NFL player murdered during the course of a season - but we don't need an intentionally committed clerical error to grasp the reality of a senseless killing.

And so I wonder: Is the inclusion of Taylor on the depth chart a genuine tribute, or the latest nod to a macabre superstition?

It's a fair question, given the Redskins' reaction to their season-finale victory against the Cowboys last Sunday. Unable to comprehend how two disparate forces were at work at the same time - Washington needed to win, Dallas didn't - coach Joe Gibbs and his players chose to dwell on the seemingly predestined margin of a final score (Redskins 27, Cowboys 6) that found the rivals separated by 21 points.

Taylor's jersey number was 21.

"I don't believe in coincidences," Washington linebacker London Fletcher told reporters.

"Our guys, we didn't think it was by accident that we won by 21," Gibbs said. "I'll put it that way."

And I'll put it this way: It was a coincidence - a chain of events exclusive to a football game in Landover, Md., which had nothing to do with a fatal gunshot in Miami a month earlier - that enabled the Redskins to win by 21 points.

On an afternoon Dallas showed up at FedEx Field with a dumbed-down, two-tiered game plan (first was to escape without anybody suffering a major injury; second was to escape without anybody suffering a minor injury), the Redskins honored Taylor by playing their best.

The effort was admirable, and didn't need the inspiration of an autographed Taylor photograph that surfaced on a Redskins fan Web site. Underneath his signature, Taylor wrote, "We Want Dallas."

The "We Want Dallas" autographed photo was relayed to Washington defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who showed it on an overhead projector during the team's Saturday night film session.

Coaches are always looking for an edge, legitimate or otherwise, and if I'm Williams, I'm probably tempted to make the "We Want Dallas" photo part of my film presentation, too.

But if the idea is to honor a teammate who died too soon, then honor him. Stop the nonsense about Taylor's influence in arranging predestined point spreads, and replace his name on the depth chart for Saturday's game in Seattle with starter Reed Doughty. He wears No. 37. As we speak, the Seahawks are breaking down the tendencies of No. 37.

Say this about the Redskins: They didn't invent the concept of the football martyr. That tradition goes all the way back to Notre Dame's Knute Rockne. At halftime of a game against Army in 1928, Rockne recalled his 1920 deathbed conversation with the great George Gipp. The Fighting Irish ended up winning, 12-6.

We'll never know how much of that legendary halftime speech was factual, but at least Rockne waited eight years before converting Gipp into a lucky charm. The Redskins didn't wait eight weeks.

Sean Taylor was murdered in the middle of the night, moments after he was awakened in his bed. However the Redskins wish to commemorate his eventful but too-short life, they should know this:

He wasn't lucky, and he wasn't charmed.





http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:724338170&start=12

[Nut44x4]

Timeline.....

Sept. 27, 2007: Lehigh Acres resident Jason Mitchell and Fort Myers resident Devon Wardlow visit Sean Taylor's home in Palmetto Bay for a long weekend. Wardlow was dating Taylor's half-sister, Sasha Johnson.
Nov. 18, 2007: Taylor's home burglarized; no one is home.
Nov. 25, 2007: Timmy Brown, Eric Rivera, Jason Mitchell, Charles Wardlow (who is Devon Wardlow's nephew) and Venjah Hunte leave Lee County in a rented car and drive across Alligator Alley.
Nov. 26, 2007: Law enforcement responds to an attempted burglary and shooting at Sean Taylor's home.
Nov. 27, 2007: Sean Taylor dies from his injuries; the Miami-Dade Police Department receives an anonymous call saying four black males from Fort Myers were the burglars.
Dec. 1, 2007: Four suspects are booked into the Lee County jail.
http://www.setanchor.com/news/sean-taylor/


Defendant in Sean Taylor slaying will seek to change plea deal today

Originally published 09:04 p.m., August 5, 2009
Updated 06:36 a.m., August 7, 2009

NAPLES — A defendant in the 2007 killing of professional football star Sean Taylor will ask to be released from his plea deal this morning in a Miami courtroom, a move that could backfire on the Fort Myers man.

Venjah Hunte, 21, is one of five Fort Myers defendants in the case, which detectives described as a botched robbery.

Originally facing a first degree murder charge and a potential life sentence in prison, he pleaded guilty to second degree murder and armed burglary in May 2008, receiving 29 years in prison in exchange for the promise of testimony against his co-defendants.

Hunte has since chafed at the deal, and in February his attorney withdrew from the case, citing his client’s wish to leave the plea deal.

Hunte filed a motion on June 19 to withdraw from the plea. On Friday, he’s scheduled to make the request in a Miami courtroom.

Prosecutors stand to lose a great deal with Hunte’s testimony — they arrested a fifth suspect days after securing the plea deal.

But Hunte, too, faces a serious consequence for backing out. According to the terms of the deal, Miami Dade Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy can penalize him with two life sentences for the move.

Murphy has other options. He can simply deny Hunte’s request, or he can allow Hunte to withdraw without facing the penalty described in the deal.

Hunte’s motion has been the source of much hand-wringing among both parties, even before it was filed. During the hearing in which Hunte’s attorney withdrew from the case, Murphy warned the defendant from making drastic decisions. A hearing has since been postponed several times.

One reason it appears ready for Friday is a recent order by Murphy that Hunte’s original attorney, Michael F. Hornung, must be available to testify at the hearing. Prosecutors had moved that attorney-client privilege be waived, a motion granted by Murphy.

The order allows Hornung to explain the circumstances leading up to Hunte’s guilty plea.

“I don’t know how his attorney is going to put on his case,” Hornung said on Wednesday. “But I’m a witness, I was deposed last week. I’m sure his questions are going to be his understanding of the plea.” Hunte’s new attorney is Reginald Mathis, of Miami. A gag order surrounds the case.

The four other defendants in the case, including alleged gunman Eric Rivera, await trial on first-degree murder charges. Depositions are ongoing.

Taylor, 24, was killed in November 2007 at his Palmetto Bay home. Detectives said the five men rented an SUV and crossed Alligator Alley to commit the crime, believing Taylor was with his team, the Washington Redskins, for a game against Tampa.

An injury had kept Taylor at home with his girlfriend and young daughter that night.

He was shot in the thigh when he confronted the burglars, and he later died of blood loss. Taylor’s girlfriend and child were unharmed.

http://www.setanchor.com/news/2009/aug/05/defendant-sean-taylor-case-wants-out-plea-deal/?print=1

[Nut44x4]

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/01/20/first-trial-date-set-in-sean-taylor-murder-case/

First Trial Date Set In Sean Taylor Murder Case

January 20, 2012 1:41 PM
MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — A trial date has been set for the alleged shooter in the 2007 murder of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor inside his Miami home.
 
A judge in Miami set the trial date for April 16th.
While four men are accused in the slaying, they will be tried separately. The judge said Friday that the first to stand trial will be 21-year-old Eric Rivera Jr.
 
Trial dates for the others have not been set.
 ::snipping2:: ::snipping2:: from link



now I'll see if I can find more recent news........

[Nut44x4]

Date of trial in 2007 murder of Sean Taylor to be released
Story Created: Apr 12, 2012 at 11:39 AM America/New_York
http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2012-04-12/Date-of-trial-in-2007-murder-of-Sean-Taylor-to-be-released


but no date given in the article.....

[Sister]

I remember when this happened.  Gracious, it sure is taking a long time for justice.
 

[Nut44x4]

BINGO!