Suspects Being Quetioned in Sean Taylor's Death

[lovebeingsahm]

MSNBC just posted as Breaking news:


3 males detained in shooting death of Taylor
Possible suspects in killing of Redskin include teenager, 2 men in their 20s

MSNBC News Services
updated 8 minutes ago
Three people have been detained by Miami-Dade detectives and are being questioned in the shooting death of Washington Redskins star safety Sean Taylor, the Miami Herald reported Friday.

The newspaper said that investigators believe the three males -- a teen-ager and two men in their 20s -- learned about Taylor's house from someone who had been bragging about Taylor's wealth.

Police investigating Sean Taylor’s death say they’ve found no indication the Washington Redskins safety was targeted or knew the assailant who broke into his home.

[The Mayor]

Excellent news!

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[lovebeingsahm]

Thanks for the welcome - I found you guys from my brother - he is the Coach!

[Coach]

what's up sis? nice to see you join the board.

[Coach]

By Michael Christie
MIAMI (Reuters) - Tipped off by the public and armed with a confession, police in Florida arrested four young men on Friday for the murder of Sean Taylor, a star defensive player with the National Football League's Washington Redskins.

Taylor, 24, who was the Redskins' first pick in the 2004 draft, was shot in the groin area during a home robbery on Monday, resulting in a severed femoral artery. He died the next day in hospital after losing massive amounts of blood.

The high-profile slaying stunned U.S. football fans and the police investigation in Miami-Dade County, under intense media scrutiny, went into immediate overdrive. On Thursday, police chief Robert Parker appealed for information.

The four men, aged 17, 18, 19, and 20, were arrested after tips led police to them in the Fort Myers area on Florida's Gulf coast, a police spokeswoman said.

Police said the men intended to burglarize Taylor's home on the other side of the state and had not expected to find anybody there when they broke in.

"There are four people that we have in custody. There have been statements made by one or more of the subjects regarding their involvement in the case," said Miami-Dade Police Department spokeswoman Kathy Webb.

The men, identified by police as Eric Rivera Jr., Charles Wardlow, Jason Mitchell and Venjah Hunte, were likely to be charged with felony murder, she said.

Taylor's former lawyer and family friend Richard Sharpstein said earlier in the day that he understood the suspects might have heard about Taylor's house in Palmetto Bay, a village south of Miami, through someone bragging about how much money the football star had.

"It looks by all indications to be exactly as I've said, that he was targeted because Sean was a wealthy football player," Sharpstein said amid initial reports that three young men were being questioned in the Fort Myers area.

Police and family friends say Taylor and his fiancee were awakened by noises in the middle of the night and Taylor was shot in the groin when his bedroom door burst open as he went to lock it. He had grabbed a machete to defend himself while his girlfriend hid with their 18-month-old baby beneath the bedcovers.

Police said a previous burglary attempt had been reported at Taylor's house on November 18. No arrests had followed.

The Miami Herald newspaper reported that one of the suspects had attended a birthday party at the house for Taylor's sister, who also happened to be the girlfriend of a brother of one of the youths arrested.

"The investigation is exploring the possibility that one or more of the subjects may have previously visited the victim's residence," Miami-Dade police said in a statement.

Taylor's death shocked his teammates. Redskins owner Daniel Snyder plans to fly the entire team to Miami for the funeral on Monday.

The hard-hitting safety had five interceptions this season but had been sidelined the last two weeks with a leg injury.

Taylor had a run-in with the law two years ago after he was accused of brandishing a gun at a group of people he suspected of stealing his all-terrain vehicle.

(Additional reporting by Jim Loney, editing by Eric Walsh)

© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.

[Coach]

Miami-Dade police arrest four men in slaying of Redskins star Taylor
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From Times Staff and Wire Reports
December 1, 2007


The Miami-Dade Police Department arrested four people Friday in connection with the shooting death of Washington Redskins Pro Bowl safety Sean Taylor.

Police spokeswoman Linda O'Brien identified the men as: Venjah K. Hunte, 20; Eric Rivera Jr., 17; Jason Scott Mitchell, 17; and Charles Kendrick Lee Wardlow, 18. O'Brien said the charges for each had not yet been determined, but "we are talking murder and burglary."

The four men were arrested in southwest Florida, about 100 miles from Miami. They will be booked into the Lee County Jail and eventually will be returned to Miami, she said. O'Brien did not have any information on when they would appear in court or if they had attorneys.

Taylor, 24, died Tuesday, one day after being shot at his home in an affluent Miami suburb during what officials said appeared to be an attempted burglary.

The suspects weren't expecting Taylor to be home, police director Robert Parker said, but Taylor was recuperating from a knee injury and had returned to Miami from Washington.

"They were certainly not looking to go there and kill anyone," Parker said. He added authorities had more than one confession but would not elaborate.