Suspect Statements In Taylor's Death To Be Released

Jul/15/08 05:51 PM Filed in: Sean Taylor
SeanTaylor
MIAMI -- A Miami-Dade County judge ruled statements made by one of the defendants in the murder trial of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor could be released to the media.

An attorney for Timothy Brown, 16, requested a protective order Tuesday, saying the pretrial publicity could affect his client's ability to receive a fair trial.

Brown, who was arrested in May, is the fifth suspect in connection with Taylor's shooting death last year.

Karen Kammer represented Local 10 during the hearing. She said the law allows the court to withhold the substance of a confession admitting to the actual crime, but other statements made to authorities or anyone else can legally be released.

"The judge thought that what the defendant was asking for was too much," Kammer said.

Judge Dennis Murphy ruled the statements can be released Aug. 12, after attorneys from both sides review them and redact them where needed.

Murphy said he is concerned about pretrial publicity affecting the case. In January, he issued a gag order, preventing anyone involved in the case from talking to the media.

Brown is charged with first-degree murder and armed burglary of an occupied dwelling. Eric Rivera Jr., 18, Venjah Hunte, 20, Charles Wardlow, 19, and Jason Mitchell, 20, are also charged with first-degree murder.

Taylor died the morning of Nov. 27, one day after he was shot in his Palmetto Bay home during a break-in.

In a statement about the killing, Hunte claims Rivera and Mitchell used a crowbar to break into Taylor's home, believing there was as much as $200,000 in cash in a bag hidden somewhere inside.

After Taylor was shot, Hunte claims, the group drove back to Fort Myers across Alligator Alley and dumped the gun, wrapped in a white sock, into the Everglades, about two miles west of the exit for the Miccosukee gaming facility.

Brown and Rivera were also ordered to submit DNA samples to be compared with evidence collected at the crime scene.

The trial for the original four suspects is scheduled to begin Aug. 25. It was unclear if Brown will be tried separately.

(click10.com)