Nov 30 2007
3 Teens, 1 20-Year-Old Arrested for Sean Taylor’s Murder … Police Say His Siblings May Be Involved
As a public viewing for Sean Taylor is planned for Sunday in Miami, and the Redskins organization makes plans to fly to Florida to attend Monday’s funeral at Pharmed Arena at Florida International University…
Four people have been arrested in connection with his murder.
The Miami-Dade Police Department arrested 20-year-old Venjah K. Hunte, 18-year-old Charles Kendrick Lee Wardlow, 17-year-old Eric Rivera and another 17-year-old. Two of the teens have arrest records in Lee County.
The police say Sean’s brother and sister may have inadvertently been involved in the NFL star’s home burglary: Apparently, Sean gave money to his brother and sister who in turn, shared with the suspects currently in custody. Sean’s siblings also bragged to the culprits about the wealth inside his home.
In addition to the four suspects currently detained, there may be others who reside in the Lehigh Acres area of town.
Sean died last Tuesday at 3:30 a.m. after being shot in the groin Monday evening during an attempted burglary in his Miami suburb. He died nearly 26 hours after his girlfriend, Jackie Garcia, called 911 to the scene.
The shooter had entered the bedroom of the house and shot Sean in the groin as he tried to defend himself with a machete. Police believe the thieves thought Sean and his family were out of town (in Washington), but he was home recuperating from a knee injury. The home had been previously broken into on November 18.
The authorities say they had more than one confession but did not go into detail. They did say, the thieves, “were certainly not looking to go there and kill anyone.”
Sean’s teammates sound off:
Running back Clinton Portis: “I can’t get excited or get my hopes up hoping these are the guys until we know for sure. Everybody wants to know why. It’s still not gonna bring back Sean. It will still take a great guy away from the world.”Receiver Santana Moss: “If those are the guys, I just hope that they’ll just be dealt with properly. I feel there’s nothing much I can say about it. It’s no anger I can express to them. What’s done is done.”
Detectives found signs of forced entry at the gated-community ranch-style home that as they collected evidence and interviewed neighbors.
It is unclear if Sean Taylor was targeted because of his financial and/or athletic status. Police do not know if he was a random victim in a neighborhood heavily populated by retirees, yet has had three burglaries within the last month.
Sean Taylor is the fourth NFL player to die this year .. the second from gunfire.