Four Charged in Sean Taylor Shooting

SoxScout

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Miami-Dade detectives have detained at least three people 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 a teenager and two men in their 20s who hail from the Fort Myers area.

The former University of Miami star was not supposed to be home. 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 Miami-Dade homicide detectives 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. He wielded a machete as he tried to protect his fiancee, 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 later at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
News Flash: 3 detained in Sean Taylor homicide
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MIAMI -- Four suspects were charged Saturday in the shooting death of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor, with two of their lawyers confirming some have confessed.

Charles Wardlow, Eric Rivera and Venjah Hunte were denied bond during a brief court appearance via videoconference in Fort Myers. The fourth suspect, Jason Mitchell, was charged Saturday afternoon and had not made a court appearance.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3136414
 

doc

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IF found guilty they should be chopped with Sean Taylor's Machette
Life in the can with a bunch of large men named Bubba is more than enough punishment.



They are in the south after all.
 

Myt1

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Life in the can with a bunch of large men named Bubba is more than enough punishment.



They are in the south after all.
No, they're in Miami. Florida is the south until you hit Miami, then all of a sudden, it becomes a weird northern city/carribean coast amalgam.
 

doc

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No, they're in Miami. Florida is the south until you hit Miami, then all of a sudden, it becomes a weird northern city/carribean coast amalgam.
Yeah but I doubt the prisons are in miami
 

Reverend

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Poor stupid kids.

My thoughts and prayers go out to them.
 

Caspir

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I blame hip hop. Oh, and Sean Taylor. It's his fault for being rich.
 
M

MentalDisabldLst

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"What we have here, is a failure to communicate."

Carr: Them clothes got laundry numbers on them. You remember your number and always wear the ones that has your number. Any man forgets his number spends a night in the box. These here spoons you keep with you. Any man loses his spoon spends a night in the box. There's no playing grab-ass or fighting in the building. You got a grudge against another man, you fight him Saturday afternoon. Any man playing grab-ass or fighting in the building spends a night in the box. First bell's at five minutes of eight when you will get in your bunk. Last bell is at eight. Any man not in his bunk at eight spends the night in the box. There is no smoking in the prone position in bed. To smoke you must have both legs over the side of your bunk. Any man caught smoking in the prone position in bed... spends a night in the box. You get two sheets. Every Saturday, you put the clean sheet on the top... the top sheet on the bottom... and the bottom sheet you turn in to the laundry boy. Any man turns in the wrong sheet spends a night in the box. No one'll sit in the bunks with dirty pants on. Any man with dirty pants on sitting on the bunks spends a night in the box. Any man don't bring back his empty pop bottle spends a night in the box. Any man loud talking spends a night in the box. You got questions, you come to me. I'm Carr, the floor walker. I'm responsible for order in here. Any man don't keep order spends a night in...
Luke: ...the box.
 
M

mannytizzletek

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4 men arrested in killing of Taylor. Police say they have "more than 1 confession".

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/30/sean.taylor/index.html
Felony-murder rule, baby:

""They were certainly not looking to go there and kill anyone," he said. "They were expecting a residence that was not occupied, so murder or shooting someone was not their initial motive. ..."

(From the same article)

I would LOVE to see the look on their face when their attorney(s) explains this.
 

Jnai

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http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition...lines-pe-sports

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.
The police have now made it very clear that the confessions they have obtained indicate that this was not an execution or planned attempt on his life. Assuming they have the right guys in custody, I don't see any reason why they'd release false information.
 

Kitchkinet

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http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3135855

The Miami Herald reported on its Web site that Mitchell and Wardlow had connections to Taylor. Mitchell cut Taylor's lawn and did other chores at the house, Mitchell's twin brother, Scottie, told the newspaper. Taylor's sister, Sasha Johnson, dates Wardlow's older cousin Christopher, and Scottie Mitchell told the paper the couple invited Jason Mitchell to Johnson's birthday party within the past two months.
So, it's looking like someone who did work for him apparently wanted more, so he started robbing Taylor blind. Only, when he went in the second time (that we know of), Taylor was home.
 

axx

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As if you needed any more proof that myspace is the worst thing ever to happen to the internet. "C-Dub's sister" is also aparently on myspace as well.
 

Tim Naehrings Girl

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No, they're in Miami. Florida is the south until you hit Miami, then all of a sudden, it becomes a weird northern city/carribean coast amalgam.
This is very true but it happens way before you hit Miami, around from Orlando down. Boca Raton and West Palm Beach are not what I would call the south.
 

Rough Carrigan

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So, they were toooooooootally just looking to rob the place and didn't expect anyone to be there. That must be why they cut the phone line. Why is the chief of police spouting their line?

We wuz just robbin' the place, Chief, honest!
Oh, okay.

WTF?!
 

Kitchkinet

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Yeah but I doubt the prisons are in miami
They'll probably be sent to Starke. Which is in the South you're thinking of. That's where they usually toss the murderers in Florida.

I myself would still like for them to fry, but the way they are reporting it, it seems unlikely they will even seek death. ESPN is describing the charge as "unpremeditated murder".
 

Kdelle

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So, they were toooooooootally just looking to rob the place and didn't expect anyone to be there. That must be why they cut the phone line. Why is the chief of police spouting their line?

We wuz just robbin' the place, Chief, honest!
Oh, okay.

WTF?!
So, Rough, what are you saying? It really sucks if some kid who was mowing his lawn got greedy...Do you NOT believe this? I was really hoping that there was a "reason"...kind of the whole "he brought it on himself" argument. Mostly because I was hoping there was some sense to be made..Otherwise this whole thing is very, very scary.
 

Gabe Kaplan

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So, Rough, what are you saying? It really sucks if some kid who was mowing his lawn got greedy...Do you NOT believe this? I was really hoping that there was a "reason"...kind of the whole "he brought it on himself" argument. Mostly because I was hoping there was some sense to be made..Otherwise this whole thing is very, very scary.
He's saying that if the suspects merely wanted to rob the place, and according to their story they thought the house would be empty, why would the phone line be cut (as reported early in the case)? Also, didn't Taylor's girlfriend say the bedroom door was kicked in prior to the shots being fired? That's not something you do if you're "merely" robbing a place.
 

Kdelle

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He's saying that if the suspects merely wanted to rob the place, and according to their story they thought the house would be empty, why would the phone line be cut (as reported early in the case)? Also, didn't Taylor's girlfriend say the bedroom door was kicked in prior to the shots being fired? That's not something you do if you're "merely" robbing a place. That sounds like their lawyers advising them of the punitive difference between an unpremeditated killing and murder in the first.

So, if these kids are actually the perps, they really wanted to kill Taylor???? Why?
 

tailwind

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He's saying that if the suspects merely wanted to rob the place, and according to their story they thought the house would be empty, why would the phone line be cut (as reported early in the case)? Also, didn't Taylor's girlfriend say the bedroom door was kicked in prior to the shots being fired? That's not something you do if you're "merely" robbing a place. That sounds like their lawyers advising them of the punitive difference between an unpremeditated killing and murder in the first.
They might've cut the lines in hopes it would disable an auto-notification feature on a security system.
 

nudicle

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I don't think we know enough facts to know the whole motive or intent. However, if FL is a state with the "felony murder" rule, these guy are, deservedly, likely totally boned.
 

Oil Can Dan

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If I were robbing a house I would cut the phone line because why not be safe rather than sorry? That said, I read a day or two ago that the phone line being cut was erroneous, or at best unclear. Has it been 100% confirmed that happened here?

As for the bedroom door being kicked in, it seems plausible to me that these kids kicked the door open w/o knowing that someone was in there. The house was supposed to be empty. Maybe these kids entered the house, found the locked door then kicked it in because they figured it was locked as a method of protecting the safe or whatever valuables were supposedly in the bedroom.
 

ibrewbeer

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Help me out here....My Undergrad is in Criminal Justice, and I have no idea what Unpremediated murder is.

Since its Florida, God know what that means. I can only assume it means like 2nd degree...

also, lets not forget, a simple apply pressure to the wound by his fiance/girlfriend/Babymother prevents death
 

Kitchkinet

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Help me out here....My Undergrad is in Criminal Justice, and I have no idea what Unpremediated murder is.

Since its Florida, God know what that means. I can only assume it means like 2nd degree...

also, lets not forget, a simple apply pressure to the wound by his fiance/girlfriend/Babymother prevents death
Being from Florida, I've never heard the term "unpremeditated murder" before. I'm hoping they mean second degree.
 

dcmissle

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Help me out here....My Undergrad is in Criminal Justice, and I have no idea what Unpremediated murder is.

Since its Florida, God know what that means. I can only assume it means like 2nd degree...

also, lets not forget, a simple apply pressure to the wound by his fiance/girlfriend/Babymother prevents death

It means the murder wasn't planned or deliberated, or by "design" in the words of the Florida statute here:

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index....h0782/Sec04.HTM

You are correct that it is categorized as 2nd degree murder in Florida.

You should note, though, that under Sec 1a(2)(e) of the statute, the homicide in this case can be characterized as first degree murder, or "felony murder" as it's often termed because it was allegedly committed during the course of burglary.
 
"The house was supposed to be empty"

This is the part I don't get. Why was the house supposed to be empty? He lived there, where was the girlfriend, baby and Sean suppose to be, a ------- Motel.. Were there cars there or did he leave his scooter in the back yard wtf? I'm also glad there's four of them, that's four less crackheads where normally it would only be one. Keep that arrest rate up per murder and the streets will be looking much better. "Life" all of them.
 

Caspir

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This is the part I don't get. Why was the house supposed to be empty? He lived there, where was the girlfriend, baby and Sean suppose to be, a ------- Motel.. Were there cars there or did he leave his scooter in the back yard wtf? I'm also glad there's four of them, that's four less crackheads where normally it would only be one. Keep that arrest rate up per murder and the streets will be looking much better. "Life" all of them.
Because he was supposed to be at a football game in another state....

And call me crazy, but I'm willing to bet he owned more than one car, so having a vehicle on the property wouldn't tell you much. There's always at least one car at my house when nobody is home. Plus, if he's at a game in Washington, wouldn't all of his cars be in the driveway regardless?

Also, I'm pretty sure that there has been no information on the people who robbed him being "crack heads," but maybe you meant that in a different way?
 

NickEsasky7

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What the Skins did to start the game today was very cool.

I respectfully disagree. There were more than enough tributes over the last week and before the game. There was no need for them to do that, especially considering Gibbs had no idea that was going on. They still had a game to play, and I think it would have been a better tribute to Taylor had they focused on winning the game rather than coming up with the most creative avenue to do so. Giving up 22 yard runs to start the game is not the way to honor your friend's memory.
 

SoxFan58

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I respectfully disagree. There were more than enough tributes over the last week and before the game. There was no need for them to do that, especially considering Gibbs had no idea that was going on. They still had a game to play, and I think it would have been a better tribute to Taylor had they focused on winning the game rather than coming up with the most creative avenue to do so. Giving up 22 yard runs to start the game is not the way to honor your friend's memory.

Really? I thought it was a creative way to honor Taylor. Of course you have the tributes, etc. during the week but it was a good way to remember him in in a way that was strictly football related.

Can't imagine the emotions those guys were playing with last night, and if they deemed that measure appropriate to honor Taylor that's good enough for me.

Besides, one play =/= a football game, especially since they did not allow any points on that particular drive anyway.
 

Doooweeeey!

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Washington Post reports there's a fifth suspect.

Link

I'm revising my earlier views (in the now-closed "T&P or laff yuks" thread) that there was a motive to kill ST on behalf
of the perp(s). Sounds like they were just a bunch of kids trying to "get rich" quick. Really stupid and really sad at the same time.
 

SuperManny

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Being from Florida, I've never heard the term "unpremeditated murder" before. I'm hoping they mean second degree.
They've been charged with 1st degree felony murder. Being that its Florida I would assume that the death penalty is on the table which is why they are all trying to plead out. I've never heard of unpremediated murder before either though.

Washington Post reports there's a fifth suspect.

Link

Sounds like they were just a bunch of kids trying to "get rich" quick. Really stupid and really sad at the same time.
While I would tend to agree that it seems like a bunch of kids trying to get rich quick for some reason they brought a loaded gun and fired it at the person in the house. According to the latest reports Taylor heard the noises and then locked the bedroom door. The suspect then kicked the door open and then opened fire. Its odd that if you were there just to rob the place that you would kick a locked bedroom door open because if its locked then most likely there are people inside.
 

Doooweeeey!

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According to the latest reports Taylor heard the noises and then locked the bedroom door. The suspect then kicked the door open and then opened fire. Its odd that if you were there just to rob the place that you would kick a locked bedroom door open because if its locked then most likely there are people inside.
Could you provide a source of this information, please? Reports I've read recently don't speculate about what happened at the scene of the crime, other than Taylor coming at the perps with a machete in hand, which is based on the girlfriend's story. Your post paints a very different picture, and I would need to see further proof before accepting your conclusion. If the house was presumed empty, the locked bedroom door would be just that, a locked door, which in the perps' eyes, might be hiding loot. No need to assume people were inside.

Edit: Grammar & clarity