Redskin’s Sean Taylor killed in Miami home<SCRIPT language=JavaScript type=text/javascript> gsl.recommendCountHrefEnabled='true'; </SCRIPT>
One year ago today, police say five young adults from Lee County broke into the Miami home of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor looking for money and not expecting the athlete to be home.
Armed, one of the teens shot Taylor, who was with his girlfriend and baby, recovering from an injury instead of playing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa.
The shot killed Taylor, 24, who bled to death the next day, and thrust Lee County into the spotlight after Eric Rivera, 18, Charles Wardlow, 19, and Venjah Hunte, 21, all of Fort Myers, and Jason Scott Mitchell, 20, of Lehigh Acres, were arrested.
In May, Hunte pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed burglary in exchange for his testimony and 29 years in prison. Days later, police arrested Timmy Lee Brown Jr., 17, and charged him with first-degree murder and armed burglary, the same charges as his co-defendants.
All face up to life in prison, if convicted when they go to trial March 9. For now, the four remaining defendants will be tried together.
Bruce Levy, chief assistant regional counsel in Miami, the office that represents Wardlow, said March may not be a realistic trial date. “There are a tremendous amount of witnesses and complicated discovery. That is going to make it difficult.”
According to a grand jury report, Rivera wielded a gun during the break-in at Taylor’s house and shot the player, while Mitchell was wearing a mask when he entered the house. The alleged roles of Hunte, Brown and Wardlow are unclear.
“It is a tragedy all the way around,” said Fort Myers attorney Wilbur Smith, who represented Rivera until March, when Rivera hired Miami attorney Clinton Pitts.
The news of Taylor’s death spread quickly. Later on Nov. 27, Miami detectives received an anonymous call, saying men had driven from Fort Myers to Miami to break into the house. The caller named Rivera, Wardlow and a third person.
Through witness interviews, detectives learned Wardlow is the nephew of Christopher Wardlow, who was dating Sasha Johnson, Taylor’s half-sister. Mitchell also had attended a birthday party for Johnson and had done work there in preparation for the party. Charles Wardlow has a daughter with Hunte’s sister. Brown is Charles Wardlow’s cousin, according to witness statements.
Within days of Taylor’s death, the attention turned to Fort Myers as Rivera, Wardlow, Mitchell and Hunte were arrested Nov. 30. Brown wasn’t arrested until May, after Hunte agreed to plead guilty and testify against his co-defendants.
The suspects hired local attorneys to represent them. All but Michael Hornung, who represents Hunte, have withdrawn from the case.
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“I didn’t anticipate the amount of media attention the case received,” said Fort Myers attorney David Brener, who represented Charles Wardlow until March, when he withdrew from the case because of a conflict. “I was getting calls from Nova Scotia, Colorado and California, as well as The Washington Post and New York Times. It was a very hectic time.”
Hornung said he believes some media displayed Lee County negatively, with out-of-control, gun-toting teens.
“The media over in Miami portrayed the area here as being a little bit more in a wild west scenario than what it is,” he said.
Smith, though, said he didn’t believe the coverage reflected poorly on Lee County.
“There’s so much tragedy in the news with young people,” Smith said. “I think the public realizes they could have come from any town.”
