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4 Men Arrested In Taylor Slaying

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The Associated Press

Published: December 1, 2007

MIAMI - Police said two men and two juveniles arrested Friday in the shooting death of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor went to his home intent on stealing, not killing.

The suspects didn't expect Taylor to be there, said Miami-Dade County police Director Robert Parker, but Taylor was recuperating from a knee injury and had returned home from Washington. When Taylor surprised them, he was shot.

"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."
Police spokeswoman Linda O'Brien identified the four suspects 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."

Authorities said they had more than one confession, but Parker would not elaborate.

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

Janelle Hall, a spokeswoman for Miami-Dade County jail, said security reasons prevented her from releasing information regarding when the suspects would be transferred to Miami.

The 24-year-old Pro Bowl safety 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.

Police have been investigating a possible link to a Nov. 17 break-in at Taylor's home, during which they said someone pried open a front window, rifled through drawers and left a kitchen knife on a bed.

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