Sports

No Bond For Suspects In Sean Taylor Murder

Charge: Unpremeditated Murder In Sean Taylor's Death

The Suspects Have Been Transferred To Miami-Dade County

Attorney: 1 Suspect Is Still Being Sought

MIAMI (CBS4) ― A Miami Dade County judge has denied bond for three of the four suspects in Sean Taylor's murder case. 

Charles Wardlow, 18, Jason Mitchell, 19, and Venjah Hunte, 20, all made brief court appearances via a videoconference from Miami-Dade County jail, where they will remain after Judge John Thornton Jr.'s ruling. The three stood silently during the hearing. 

The three suspects and a fourth one, Eric Rivera, 17, all face charges of unpremeditated murder, home invasion with a firearm or another deadly weapon and armed burglary.

Rivera is being processed at a juvenile detention center.

"I think he's in disbelief over what occurred," said Rivera's attorney, Wilbur Smith. "His expression to me was that 'I can't believe this kind of thing happened."'

Landon Miller, Mitchell's attorney, said his client was distraught and on suicide watch. Hunte's attorney, Michael Hornung, said his client did not have a gun.

"My client had no knowledge whatsoever where they were going," he said.

Another lawyer has said there is a fifth suspect that police are seeking.

Probable cause affidavits for Mitchell and Rivera said the two confessed to participating in armed burglary. According to the reports, Mitchell and Rivera admitted entering the home and said someone had a gun and shot Taylor, but they didn't identify who. Police and attorneys also have said some of the young men confessed, though they wouldn't elaborate.

Keith Leonardo, president of Florida Christian Institute in Fort Myers, said Rivera and Wardlow are both seniors at the school, which has 190 learning-disabled students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Both played on the school's flag football team, Leonardo said.

Sunday, Mitchell was denied bond in a morning court appearance. The 19-year old suspect responded quietly when asked by the judge if he understood the charges. The three other men charged in the Taylor case, Rivera, Wardlow and Hunte were also denied bond during their court appearance Saturday.

CBS4's David Sutta reported from Ft. Myers court Saturday morning the first suspect to appear before Judge Hugh Starnes, was Rivera who allegedly confessed to the crimes.

Wilbur Smith, the attorney representing Rivera, said Saturday he expected a speedy resolution.

"There is not doubt that you are going to detain him," said Smith. "My take on this case is there is going to be a speedy resolution to it. This is not going to be one of those dragged out dramas."

Smith said his client was remorseful.

"It's an indescribable tragedy for the Taylor family, and it's a tragedy for the families of these other young men because their lives are down the tube," Smith said.

John Evans, the attorney representing Wardlow, said he had not heard if the murder weapon was found.

The four suspects all have prior arrests, according to Lee County Sheriff's Office records: Wardlow, 18, was arrested twice for selling marijuana and once for grand theft of a vehicle. Rivera, 17, has been arrested in October for trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine, and he previously was behind bars for altering the identification number on a firearm. Hunte, 20, was arrested previously this year on drug and trespassing charges. And Mitchell, 19, had been arrested twice, most recently in October on charges of driving with a suspended license and violation of probation.

Ironically, Wardlow's father, Vince, is just a few cells away in the jail, facing criminal charges for a Ft. Myers murder in 2006.

Miami Dade Police Public Safety Director Robert Parker said the robbery attempt at Taylor's home was a random incident and not a planned hit. The men involved, he said, thought they were stealing from an unoccupied home in Palmetto Bay, but when they were discovered by Taylor, one of them shot him in the leg, causing his death.
 
"They were certainly not looking to go there and kill anyone," Parker said. "They were expecting a residence that was not occupied, so murder or shooting someone was not their initial motive."

According to police the four of them got into an awaiting car and fled the scene of the crime. They believe they are the same suspects who had broken into the home earlier in the month, without being discovered. 

"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." said Redskins' receiver Santana Moss.

Taylor and longtime girlfriend, Jackie Garcia, were awakened by loud noises at Taylor's Palmetto Bay home. Taylor grabbed a machete he keeps in the bedroom for protection, then someone broke through the bedroom door and fired two shots, one missing and one hitting Taylor in the upper leg. Neither the couple's 18-month-old daughter, also named Jackie, nor Garcia were injured in the attack.

The bullet damaged the femoral artery in Taylor's leg, causing significant blood loss. Taylor never regained consciousness and died a little more than 24 hours later at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

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