MIAMI (AP) -The attorney for a man who pleaded guilty in the killing of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor says his client now wants out of the deal.

Michael Hornung, the attorney for 21-year-old Venjah Hunte (VEHN'-jah huhnt), says his client plans to withdraw his guilty plea to second-degree murder and armed burglary of an occupied dwelling. Under the May plea agreement, Hunte would have served 29 years in prison in exchange for cooperating with prosecutors.

Hornung says he and Hunte disagree about withdrawing the plea, and that Hunte will appear in court Thursday in Miami to ask for a new court-appointed lawyer.

Taylor was fatally shot in November 2007 in a botched robbery at his home outside Miami. Altogether, five people have been charged in the killing.

(nbcsports.com)

There will be a Flag Football tournament in honor of Sean Taylor on April 4th and 5th at his former high school, Gulliver Preperatory High School located at 6575 North Kendall Drive, Miami, Florida 33156.

For more information email r1star@aol.com

The trial involving the shooting death of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor was again postponed yesterday when defense attorneys asked a Miami state court judge for more time to interview witnesses.

Circuit Court Judge Dennis J. Murphy granted the request and put off setting a new trial date until June 9, when he requested reports from the defense on their progress on discovery. Originally scheduled to go to trial last August, the trial date had been reset for March 9.

Eric Rivera Jr., 18; Jason Scott Mitchell, 21; Charles Kendrick Lee Wardlow, 19; and Timmy Lee Brown, 17; face first-degree murder and armed burglary charges in connection with Taylor's death. Taylor died days after Thanksgiving in 2007 after being shot in his Miami home during a botched burglary attempt.

One original defendant, Venjah K. Hunte, 21, pleaded guilty last year and is expected to testify during the trial.

(washingtonpost.com)

First comes the gate, a heavy metal barrier that halts visitors' cars about 100 feet from Clinton Portis' waterfront condo in Miami. It's manned by a security guard who reaches out from behind thick glass to check the ID of each driver and passenger, while high-tech cameras snap pictures of their faces and license plates, before allowing them to pass. The immaculately groomed grounds of cobblestone and palm trees are fortified with well-disguised cameras by the front door, the loading dock, the concierge desk and the private guest elevator. After navigating past those, plus a metal door secured with a dead bolt and a wall-mounted computerized alarm system, guests are finally allowed entry into Portis' sanctuary in the sky.

Enjoying a rare weekend off, the NFL's second-leading rusher is on his couch, yawning constantly while watching college football. He's wearing pajama pants, orange footies and a white T-shirt emblazoned with a picture of friend and departed Skins teammate Sean Taylor. Favoring a sore left knee, Portis shuffles across his marble floor to show off the views. To the east, windsurfers ride the glassy waters of the bay. To the west, Miami's skyline. And behind the blinds to the north: another shiny condo tower, where a woman stands on her balcony, peering directly at a startled Portis.

The moment perfectly captures how NFL players feel these days. On Nov. 26, 2007, Taylor was shot by intruders in the bedroom of his Miami home while his girlfriend and 18-month-old daughter hid under the covers. The botched robbery attempt was another horrific chapter of a crime wave against pro athletes, one that's shocked NFL players into a paradigm shift in self-awareness and security. Yet no matter how closely they protect themselves, many still can't shake the feeling that someone is out there, just beyond the blinds, lurking. "I don't think the NFL is gonna ever be the same," says Portis. "As a football player, Sean thrived on instilling fear in people on the field. Then you wake up in the middle of the night, and you hear something rattling around in your house, and in a split second—now the fear is in you."

You can see the impact of Taylor's death in the body language of 315-pound Chiefs rookie Branden Albert as he leaves a club, checking and rechecking his rearview mirror to make sure he isn't being followed. It's in the nervous laughter of Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger when he recalls the time a weapon was waved in his face. It compels Jaguars running back Fred Taylor to use the car with the less showy factory rims when he goes out at night. It's in the candid conversations Titans center Kevin Mawae says happen in every locker room around the league. And it's in the near whisper of Texans cornerback Dunta Robinson as he talks, for the first time publicly, about his own home invasion.

When asked about their fears, players cite the same frightening flashpoints: New Year's Day 2007, when Broncos defensive back Darrent Williams was shot and killed outside a Denver nightclub while riding in his limo; November 2007, when Taylor was murdered; June 2008, when Oakland receiver Javon Walker was robbed and beaten unconscious near the Vegas strip; and September 2008, when Jaguars lineman Richard Collier was paralyzed and had to have his leg amputated above the knee after he was shot 14 times in what police say was a retaliatory shooting. "We are targets," says Buccaneers corner Ronde Barber. "We need to be aware of that everywhere we go."

Violence against athletes is not new, of course, and not isolated to the NFL. Just last summer in Chicago, NBA players Antoine Walker and Eddy Curry were robbed in their homes. But more than any other league's, the culture of the NFL—the wealth, fame, brutality and air of invincibility—makes its players vulnerable. Broncos security chief Dave Abrams, who was hired full-time shortly after Williams was shot, says the hardest part of his job is convincing players of their own mortality. To excel at such a violent sport, he explains, they must be fearless; they think of themselves as the kind of untouchable warrior who would never require the protection of a bodyguard, an alarm system or even a locked door. The night he was murdered, Sean Taylor had neglected to turn on his home security system, even though his house had been burglarized just nine days earlier.

The NFL is attempting to flip this it-can't-happen-to-me mindset. The league provides a security consultant to each team, and most teams also have their own head of security. At his State of the League address before Super Bowl XLII, commissioner Roger Goodell said that players becoming targets was "a big issue." "We have to do everything we can to educate our players of the simple things they can do to protect themselves" Goodell said.

Portis has gotten the message. Security measures that used to be an afterthought are now part of his daily routine. Alarms that used to go unused are now turned on each night. Doors are dead-bolted. Windows are locked. Others are taking even more drastic steps. Robinson recently became a gun owner. Roethlisberger uses bodyguards for public appearances. Mawae, the NFLPA president, runs background checks on potential babysitters.

Fred Taylor, meanwhile, has equipped his Jacksonville home with every conceivable security apparatus. "I still don't think I have enough," he says. "Who knows what's enough? I wouldn't say I'm safe.

"I don't know what safe is."

(espn.com)

For 37 years, the Greater Miami Pop Warner Football League has been putting the Pop Warner Bowl together.

But, as everyone who attended the two-day event at the University of Miami's Cobb Stadium would agree, this year's version was special.

On Saturday, the Pop Warner Bowl was officially renamed after former Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, who died Nov. 27, 2007, from a gunshot wound inflicted during a break-in at his Palmetto Bay home.

Taylor wasn't just a two-time Pro Bowler, he was one of Miami's proudest sons.

In the same league in which South Florida's future stars played this weekend, Taylor got his start with the South Dade Rams before making a name for himself at Gulliver Prep and UM.

As most of the dust settled and the two remaining classifications battled it out for their respective championships Sunday, Greater Miami Pop Warner president Frank Gowin thought back to Saturday, when the outlining track around the field was filled to capacity, and Taylor's father, Pete, received a plaque in his son's honor.

''There was definitely a different buzz and more excitement [this year],'' said Gowin, who received a $1,000 donation from Joe Gibbs, Taylor's coach in Washington, $5,000 from Pete Taylor and an additional $1,000 from Gregg Williams, Taylor's defensive coach in Washington.

``It just all seemed to fit.''

KEEPING KIDS ON TRACK
The value of Pop Warner has never changed. As most of the younger kids at Cobb Stadium tended to run the wrong way on handoffs and, sometimes, just not know the rules, it was clear that the program's main goal is to serve as a way of introducing youngsters to the game.
Also, it's a way to keep them busy and off the streets.

''This is one of the best dropout-prevention programs,'' said Tim Harris, the former coach at Booker T. Washington who now is with UM.

(miamiherald.com)

ASHBURN, Va. -- Safety Sean Taylor will take his place among Washington Redskins greats when he is inducted posthumously into the franchise's Ring of Fame before the Nov. 30 game against the New York Giants.

The ceremony will precede the Redskins' 1 p.m. ET kickoff against the Giants, the first game following the one-year anniversary of Taylor's slaying at age 24.

Taylor died of massive blood loss after he was shot at his Miami-area home last Nov. 27 during a botched robbery.

Venjah Hunte, one of five suspects charged in the slaying, will serve 29 years in prison and cooperate with prosecutors after pleading guilty to charges of second-degree murder and burglary.

"It's appropriate that Sean joins our Ring of Fame after a stellar career cut short far too soon," owner Dan Snyder said in a statement. "His life touched so many of us in such deep and lasting ways. His presence is all around us, in our organization and among our fans."

A two-time Pro Bowl safety, Taylor played four seasons with the Redskins after Washington selected him with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2004 draft.

Taylor will become the 43rd name on the Ring of Fame, which honors those who have made distinguished contributions to the Redskins. The ceremony will feature a tribute to Taylor, messages from former teammates and a presentation of a plaque to members of Taylor's family.

(espn.com)

Greater Miami Pop Warner is pleased to rename it's yearly championship series in honor of former Miami Pop Warner scholar athlete, high school standout, University of Miami star player, and All Pro Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor

We invite you to join us at the 1st Annual Sean Taylor Classic.
This nine game event will be held at Cobb Field, on the University of Miami campus, Sat. and Sun. - Nov. 8th & 9th.
 
Players, age 10 - 15, on sixteen teams, will vie for the right to represent Miami Pop Warner as champions, in the regional playoffs on the road to the national Pop Warner championship games in Orlando at Walt Disney Wide World of Sports.

Cobb Field is located next to the Greentree practice facility and behind Mark Light Field at the University of Miami, in Coral Gables. Gates will open one hour before the first games. Admission is $7.00 adults and $3.00 children age 5 - 15. No re-entry. Food, drinks, or coolers are not permitted. Concessions will be available.

Join us and help make the inaugural Sean Taylor Classic a memorable event!
 

Like many Washington Redskins fans, artist Jason Swain mourned the death of 24-year-old Sean Taylor when the player was shot in November. But instead of buying a "21" jersey or expressing his sorrow on sports blogs, Swain created a six-foot portrait of the fallen athlete.

The painting is a montage of Taylor's football career, from his days at the University of Miami through his 3 1/2 seasons as a Redskins safety. Football fans can view the painting at Champps Americana restaurant in Arlington's Pentagon Row, where it has hung since the Sept. 4 start of the Redskins season.

But the tribute painting has seen kudos and conflict on its way to the tavern wall.

After about 200 hours of work, Swain finished the painting and contributed it to an art exhibition that he had already committed to at Children's National Medical Center. While it hung there in March, a group of players visited the hospital as part of the "Redskins Read" literacy program. It caught the attention of Betti-Jo "BJ" Corriveau, the team's vice president for community and charitable programs, and wide receiver Santana Moss. Corriveau expressed casual interest in buying the original; Moss wanted to order three prints.

This is when the trouble began.

In an e-mail exchange, Swain quoted Corriveau a price of $20,000. She responded by asking him if he would donate the portrait so that it could be displayed at FedEx Field. He said no.

"I thought it was fairly insulting," Swain says. "I wouldn't call the Redskins and say I want season tickets and free hot dogs for the rest of the year. I expect to pay something."

Swain had signed a contract to give 25 percent of the proceeds to the children's hospital. A donation would have meant a loss of $5,000 to the hospital.

The next e-mail that Swain received from Corriveau read:

"I understand that you need to sell your painting and the prints but please know that you need to remove our logo and the NFL logo from all images."

The sale fell through, and Swain hasn't removed any of the logos from the painting. It made its way to the Champps wall after Swain cold-called the restaurant about hanging the artwork for its Redskins kickoff party. "Better other people see it than sitting in the house collecting dust," he says.

Swain, 41, is an Australian immigrant who lives in Kensington and runs a landscaping business. This isn't his first celebrity tribute painting. In 2006, his portrait of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin hung at the Mansion at Strathmore. He has also painted Bill Clinton, Halle Berry and Diane Sawyer.

Swain is afraid the Redskins will take legal action against him, so he has consulted with an intellectual-property lawyer and taken the painting off the market. At Champps, a small placard lists Swain's phone number but no price.

This squabble has legal precedent, says Georgetown University law professor Rebecca Tushnet. Tiger Woods sued sports artist Rick Rush in 2000 over a painting of Woods winning the Masters. The golfer lost.

"Courts have been confronting these issues, and they are increasingly coming down on the side of the arts," Tushnet says. Although Woods was protecting his image and not a logo, both cases fall under the umbrella of intellectual-property law. "Basically, almost anything can be a trademark," Tushnet says. Think Michael Jordan flying toward the hoop.

The Moss transaction has hit a dead-end. Moss's manager Lily Stefano balked when Swain quoted her $5,000 to produce and ship the three custom four-foot-tall giclee prints (high-resolution reproductions of the original, produced from digital scans) to Moss in Miami. Stefano says she thought Swain's price was "sky-high," and she advised Moss to back off. Swain hasn't had contact with Corriveau or Stefano since April.

Reached by telephone last week, Corriveau didn't recall where she had left her dealings with Swain. "We had some conversations but never anything solid," she said. "It's a beautiful portrait." She didn't think Swain would be offended by her directive to remove the logos from the painting.

As product placements invade our world, so will they sneak onto canvases, Tushnet says: "The idea in general is that we want artists to be able to portray the world as they see it, and we live in a heavily branded world."

(washingtonpost.com)

A painting honoring  murdered Washington Redskins (web|news) safety Sean Taylor is causing a lot of controversy.

The artist planned to sell his artwork showing Taylor and donate some of the money to charity. But the team has other ideas.

It hangs in Champs Restaurant in Pentagon Row, a 5x6 foot oil painting of Taylor, the Redskins safety killed last November.

"I think it's a great tribute to him," said one customer. "I think the painting itself is beautiful," said another.

But Jason Swain, who painted it as a tribute, can't sell it. The Kensington artist, who specializes in portraits, planned to sell the painting for $20,000 and donate $5,000 to Children's Hospital. He said the Redskins' management saw it on exhibit and liked it.

"But they wanted me to donate it to them," said Swain. "You know, 200 hours work, I really can't afford to give away a piece like this, and also the hospital wouldn't have made anything out of it," he said.

So he told the Redskins, no freebie.

"That's when I got the email saying the logos were a problem," said Swain.

The Redskins told Swain he would have to remove all team and NFL logos because of corporate branding and legal issues. So now Swain can't sell his painstaking tribute to Sean Taylor - unless he gets his paint brush back out.

"I just hate to change something like that - he's a Redskin, it's like he'd be wearing a blank uniform," said Swain. "It just wouldn't be the same."

(wjla.com)

From bedroom furnishings to a bottle of Febreze, there was no item too insignificant up for auction from the late Sean Taylor’s estate last week in Bealeton.

The former all-pro Washington Redskins’ safety, who was murdered in his Florida home in November, also owned a home in Ashburn. About 200 people — many in Redskins T-shirts and hats — packed into the Brooks Auction House in Bealeton on Sept. 5 for a chance to own a piece of Taylor’s Ashburn estate.

“I’m interested to see his stuff and what it was going for,” said Jimmy Brooks of Locust Grove, nephew of auctioneer Tom Brooks. “And the way he lived, I guess.”

Some came out of curiosity, some came out of Redskins loyalty, others were simply weekly auction regulars who grabbed a juicy hot dog from the snack bar before settling into one of the folding metal chairs. A few items of interest up for bidding included a set of custom Redskins/Cowboys pool balls and a signed Redskins football.

Bealeton resident Jeff Bland said he came specifically for the Sean Taylor items. Bland said he is a diehard Redskins fan, and was really depressed from the opening game, during which the Redskins lost to the New York Giants.

Bland called himself a true fan.

“…I’m really interested in one particular item, which is the cue balls,” he said. 

And how much was Bland willing to bid on the coveted pool set?

“I don’t know, I hadn’t really discussed that with the wife yet,” Bland said. “It all depends on the crowd. I may go as high as 100 bucks.”

Aside from the pool balls, there was not much Redskins memorabilia up on the auction block, though bidders browsing the rows of tables inferred Taylor’s family kept many items of significance.

Other lots — all marked with a “21,” Taylor’s jersey number — ranged from power tools to plastic toys, cologne to kitchen accessories. One lucky bidder won the Febreze, a stainless steel coffee cup and a wooden candlestick, all for $7.50. For $90, another became the proud owner of a wooden statuette of a nude woman, whose exposed breasts the auctioneer modestly covered with his hand while displaying her to the crowd.

One auction regular expected a lavish seven-piece wooden bedroom set to sell for at least $5,000. Redskins fan and Culpeper Middle School student Kyle King said his parents were eyeing a champagne-colored loveseat for their house.

“I’ve never done this before,” said Kyle’s mom Kristi King, who goes to the Redskins’ games every Sunday with her family. “I’ve never been to an auction. We’ve found a couple pieces we’d like to bid on, a couple sofas, some memorabilia that would be fun for the kids to have.”

As the Brooks auctioneer solicited bids in what sounded like gibberish, occasionally pausing to poke fun at the variety of items, clerks marked the lucky bidders’ winnings with masking tape and permanent marker. The proceeds from the auction, minus commission, will go toward Taylor’s daughter’s trust fund.

“So far it’s going pretty good,” said auction clerk Tanya Ring. “It’s pretty packed. It was a big tragedy when it happened — still think it’s a big tragedy. He’d just started his career, so hopefully we’ll make a lot of money for his daughter.”

(staffordcountysun.com)

When Santana Moss steps onto the Giants Stadium turf before Thursday’s NFL season opener in East Rutherford, N.J., the Washington Redskins’ eighth-year wideout will close his eyes and blurt out the initials of a pair of childhood friends who never made it to adulthood.

It’s a ritual Moss has been performing before games and practices since arriving at the University of Miami as a freshman 11 years ago, and since last November it has been expanded to honor the memory of a third fallen comrade.

“Deuce to the one!” Moss will yell before beginning his pregame sprint. Then, he and many of his Redskins teammates will do their best to channel the ferocity and passion that slain safety Sean Taylor once brought to the field.

“That’s me letting Sean know I’m still out here for him, thinking of him, remembering him,” Moss said last month. “It hurts so much to think that he’s gone. But for some of us, he’ll always be part of this.”

When Taylor, an ultra-talented fourth-year player seemingly headed for stardom, died last Nov. 27, a day after being shot by intruders during a robbery attempt at his Miami-area home, the impact on the Redskins transcended the loss of perhaps the franchise’s best player.

For veterans like Moss and halfback Clinton Portis, the loss of their fellow UM alum and close friend was a brutal reality check – a reminder that life can be taken away at any time and should be afforded the requisite gravity.

For then-rookie safety LaRon Landry, the talented protégé whom Taylor had done his best to mold, it was an impetus to play with even more aggression and rage.

For virtually everyone on Washington’s roster last fall, it was a jarring yet illuminating glimpse into how interconnected a football team can be – and how that normally unspoken chemistry can fuel an unlikely run of overachievement.

“When Sean died, each of us spent some time reflecting on how he had touched us – conversations we’d had, wisdom he had provided,” Pro Bowl tight end Chris Cooley says. “Eventually, we all started piecing it together and realized, whoa, that was an amazing person. He’d impacted so many of us in so many different ways.”

In the weeks after his death, it was tough not to believe that Taylor didn’t have a profound posthumous effect on the Skins’ surprising playoff drive. The emotionally devastated team paid tribute to Taylor in the first game after his death by lining up for the first defensive snap with only 10 men. Washington lost that game in excruciating fashion to the Buffalo Bills on a last-second field goal, then flew en masse to Miami for their former teammate’s funeral.

With 36-year-old quarterback Todd Collins playing the rest of the way for injured Jason Campbell, the ‘Skins proceeded to defeat the Bears, Giants, Vikings and Cowboys, the latter a 27-6 victory on the final day of the regular season to secure a playoff spot.

The next weekend in Seattle, things got even eerier. Washington rallied from a 13-0 deficit to take a 14-13 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Collins to Moss. The ensuing kickoff soared high above the Qwest Field turf before landing on the Seattle 14-yard line. Several Seahawks players were nearby, but none picked it up. The Skins’ Anthony Mix recovered, bringing Qwest Field to a hush save the wild celebration on the visitors’ sideline.

Some players pointed to the sky. They felt Taylor was still helping them.

The Seahawks felt it, too.

“If anybody had destiny on their side in the playoffs, it was the Washington Redskins,” says new Washington coach Jim Zorn, who was Seattle’s quarterbacks coach from 2001-07. “We had big fears of that.”

The Redskins soon ran out of magic, losing 35-14 after a miserable flurry in the final minutes. Coach Joe Gibbs retired, and coordinators Al Saunders and Gregg Williams ultimately left. Zorn arrived with a different coaching approach, and the team’s culture began to change.

Zorn understood, however, that Taylor would have to be a part of the new order. Early in training camp, Zorn told the team of his experiences in Seattle in 2003, when veteran passer Trent Dilfer’s five-year-old son, Trevin, died after a sudden heart infection. “We would never, ever say to Trent, even today, ‘You just need to move on,’   ” Zorn said to the players. “That’s not something you get over. It’s something you remember and that you have to live with every day, just as you guys will with Sean. Through you, his memory will live on.”

The locker once occupied by Taylor at the team’s Ashburn, Va., training facility remains as he left it, encased in Plexiglass. Zorn says there are plans to honor Taylor’s memory at a game at FedEx Field early this season. Taylor’s fiancée, Jackie Garcia, and their daughter, Jackie, visited the team’s facility in mid-August. Executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato still speaks semi-regularly with Taylor’s father, Pedro, the police chief of Florida City.

“I think we’ll always play for him,” Portis says. “You look at this team and see we’ve got all these pieces in place, and you realize there’s one person who’s not here, but who should be.”

Moss says Taylor’s death had a deep impact on the way he views football and life. Over the offseason he married his longtime girlfriend, LaTosha Allen, with whom he has two children. He says he is more mature and more careful than he was before the tragedy struck.

“I can assure you it carries over for me, because it just let me know how easily this game can be taken away from you,” Moss says. “Not only this game, but life. It’s one of the greatest gut-checks I ever experienced. That man is gone.

“When he passed, that put another kind of surge in me, as far as what I needed to take care of as a man. When you’re in this football world, it’s almost like you’re in college all over again – it’s not like you’re in the real world, with real responsibilities. Now I approach it differently. I’ve been ready to grow up for 13 years now.”

Among other things, Moss says, “It just let me know that everybody’s not my friend. Everybody that gives me hugs and daps me off and yells and screams ‘You’re the best!’ isn’t necessarily in my corner. When I talked to the authorities who investigated Sean’s death and heard that the guys who robbed him were guys Sean knew, it blew me away. They knew him. They liked him. They knew his sister and loved his game and loved the guy that he was.

“But, you know, the economy sucks and these young kids don’t want to work for anything, so they went to his house when they thought he wasn’t home and figured, ‘He won’t know we did it.’ Then he surprised them, and bam. Now somebody’s life is gone – and their lives are basically gone, too.”

(Last May one suspect accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to 29 years in prison; four others are expected to go to trial in March.)

Another player whom the tragedy hit especially hard was Landry, the sixth overall pick in the ‘07 draft. Almost as soon as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called his name on the podium, Landry began hearing from people in NFL circles who cautioned him about Taylor’s supposedly surly nature.

“Guys were telling me, ‘He’s going to be a hard guy to work with,’ ” Landry recalls. “But when I got here, it was the total opposite. He worked with me in meeting rooms and on the field and helped me get over that hurdle that all rookies face.”

As the two safeties grew comfortable playing together, Cerrato began fantasizing about an extended run of greatness at the position. Taylor, the strong safety, “had phenomenal range and incredible ball skills. He was a kill-you-or-miss-you tackler.” Landry, the free safety, “is a great blitzer and a great tackler who’s still developing his downfield game. They were the perfect complement for one another – each guy’s strengths complemented the other’s weaknesses. And they’d have been playing together forever.”

As part of his mentoring of Landry, Taylor used to give the rookie a ride to and from the team’s training facility during the week. Upon learning of Taylor’s death, Cerrato recalls, “LaRon starts crying and says, ‘Who’s gonna take me home?’ ”

It’s a darker emotion that Landry has summoned since, at least on Sundays. Teammates noticed the way he stepped up his intensity after Taylor’s death, intercepting a pair of passes in the playoff game in Seattle and looking for the type of big hits that No. 21 would have encouraged.

“Most definitely, I try to follow in his footsteps,” Landry says. “I try to match his intensity, his style of play and bring what he brought to the team. I’ll never be as great as he was. But all of this has inspired me to just … to just. … Well, instead of using the words I really want to use, I’ll say to just go out there and lay it on the line.”

What Landry was unwilling to say was something to which most men in his profession can relate: He plays angrier now, summoning more violence, looking to take out his pain on anyone in his midst. Before every game since high school, Landry has taken a pen and scrawled “Suicide Mission” on his chest. Those words have taken on added resonance since Taylor’s death.

“It’s not what you think,” Landry says. “Obviously, this is not life and death. But it’s a way of reminding myself that if I have to hurt my own body to do what I need to do, then that’s what it’s gonna be.”

When Portis looks at Landry now, he sees “probably the next closest thing that you’re going to find to Sean Taylor. He’s next in line. Both are quiet guys. I could have an off-the-wall conversation with either one that leaves me shaking my head. And you never know what day they feel like talking. Some days you’re chatting it up for hours, and some days you get the blankest stares and think, ‘Man, that (conversation) never happened. What’s going on in that dude’s mind?’ So you just sit back and wait for him to come to you.”

One thing about Taylor’s death that has bothered Portis and so many of his teammates is the way some journalists and others rushed after the shooting to assume that he had provoked the gunfire. Taylor, after all, had been the subject of a 2005 firearms-assault case, though charges were ultimately dropped as part of negotiated plea bargain.

Yet as Taylor’s career progressed – and especially after his daughter was born in the spring of 2006 – he began to show a maturity that was noticeable inside the locker room. Taylor, however, remained distant and guarded with the media, and the negative public perception of him remained largely intact.

“What people didn’t realize, but what we all knew, was that Sean had changed,” Cooley says. “He was all about family. He really didn’t go out. But he didn’t show that side of himself to people on the outside, because he felt he’d been burned. It’s too bad.”

Taylor’s teammates learned even more about him after his death when Garcia spoke to the team. Says Cerrato: “Jackie told them, ‘You don’t know how much you guys meant to Sean. Football was his life.’ The guy had built a video room in his house and walked around saying, ‘I’ve got to get better. I’ve got to improve.’ And he had a huge heart. These guys will never forget.”

As they prepare for a new season, with a new coach and many new faces, the holdovers in the Redskins’ organization look for any sign that Taylor is still with them. “We beat Dallas (last December) by 21,” Cerrato says, shaking his head. “We lost to Seattle by 21 in the playoff game. And we had the 21st pick in the draft.”

Deuce to the one. It’s a number Moss will carry with him for the rest of his playing days.

“I look at the locker now and then,” Moss says quietly. “I hope it’s always there. Sean meant so much. I really think he was before his time.”

Every night before he goes to bed, Portis updates his fallen teammate on the state of the Redskins, part of the “regular conversations I have with him, like he was still here.” And sometimes, before he catches himself, Portis finds himself speaking as though Taylor’s death never happened.
In August, while eating at a Mexican restaurant in Washington D.C., Portis struck up a conversation with a female diner and eventually told her what he did for a living.

The woman, who was a casual football fan, asked Portis, “Who’s your favorite player?”

“Past or present?” he asked.

“Past.”

“Bo Jackson. Or Barry Sanders.”

“What about present?”

“My favorite player right now, hands down, is Sean Taylor,” Portis said. The woman’s eyes grew big, and there was an uncomfortable pause.

“To this day, that’s my guy,” Portis told her. “He’s still here.”

(sports.yahoo.com)

Brooks Auction Transfer LLC will be auctioning the Estate of the late Sean Taylor’s (Redskin) Ashburn home on Friday September 5, 2008 at 5:00p.m.
 
Contents of the house to include Sigsauer 9mm P228 pistol, 7 pc bedroom suite-king size bed with very large ornate columns-wardrobe cabinet-2 low chest w/ one drawer over 2 cabinet doors-five drawer tall chest-12 drawer long dresser-bench with upcurled ends/upholstered seat, brown leather recliner, king size brown leather sleigh bed, full size iron bed, wicker and rattan glass top table & 4 chairs, 4 leather and chrome barstools, burgundy sofa, gold sofa, black panther glass top table, GE refrigerator freezer, (2) 3shelf glass TV stands, oak lift up coffee table, set of Redskin/Dallas pool balls, Dell computer,  Nordstrom teapot, Tommy Hilfiger cufflinks, Toro lawnmower, 8 saltwater fishing poles and reels, spear gun, cue stick, and more.

We will also be auctioning other high quality mdse from local consigners.

We are still uncovering items as we unpack.

Keep checking back for pictures

Any questions or for directions call Tom or Squire at 540-439-7273. 
 
Terms of sale: Cash, check, Visa, MC, Discover, & debit. 10% Buyer Premium. No extra charge if you use credit card.
 
Proceeds of sale minus commission will go to Sean’s daughter’s Trust Fund.
 
Directions: From Fredericksburg take 17N approx. 19 miles on right. From Manassas take Rte 28S to Route 17S  approx 4 miles on left.
From Fairfax take 66W to exit 43 towards Warrenton Rte 29S to Rte 17S Opal approx 7 miles on left.
 
 
Brooks Auction Transfer LLC, 12099 Marsh Rd, Bealeton, Va. 22712
 
 
Auction conducted by Brooks Auction Transfer LLC   VAF #2908 000683.

The fifth and final man charged with killing Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor on Friday waived his right to have a trial within 190 days of his arrest, meaning the case will be delayed for months.

Three other defendants also have waived their speedy trial rights. One man, Venjah K. Hunte, pleaded guilty to murder charges and will be sentenced to 29 years in prison.

Taylor was shot in the groin during a botched burglary at his Palmetto Bay home in November. He died the next day.
Four Ft. Myers area men were arrested shortly after the killing. The fifth was picked up in May.

Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy also considered defense requests to seal portions of the records in the case on Friday, and granted a request to seal a police report because he said the defense attorneys would probably try to have the report suppressed.

(miamiherald.com)

ASHBURN, Va. — There are tangible reminders of Sean Taylor at Redskins Park.

The wooden plaque near new head coach Jim Zorn's office, for example. Or the Pro Bowl safety's locker room stall, still arranged precisely as it was the day he died.

And then there are the reminders no one can touch or see, the vivid memories of Taylor that allowed him to make his way into his former teammates' thoughts Sunday, when the Washington Redskins opened their first training camp without him.

"You know how it is when you lose somebody - it's just personal experiences," said safety Reed Doughty, who moved into Taylor's spot in the starting lineup last season. "It might be a drill that we're doing that Sean used to do so perfectly and I can't quite get right. Or . . . he might get that extra rep in when everybody's tired."

Taylor, 24, died of massive blood loss after he was shot at his Miami-area home during a botched robbery in November. The Redskins lost the first game they played after Taylor's death, then immediately went on a four-game winning streak to reach the playoffs - and his was a constant presence along the way.

It still is.

"You can't put it behind you," said cornerback Fred Smoot, who left Sunday's second practice with a sprained ankle.

"We put it in front of us, actually. I mean, here's how we look at it: If you want a role model out there, a player that was relentless, never stopped, a true athlete, the best I ever played with at that position - he's a good guy to set that example for us. So we're going to try to live up to Sean Taylor. That's what we tried to do at the end of the year, and that's what we're going to try to do this whole year."

Taylor's uniform number, 21, was on patches stitched onto the Redskins' jerseys and on stickers affixed to their helmets last season. Zorn said the NFL won't allow Washington to continue those tributes, but the team is working on other ways of honouring Taylor.

And there already is the two-foot-long wooden carving that hangs on the wall across from Zorn's office door, with "21" carved at each end to flank the word "Redskins."

Zorn, who replaced the retired Joe Gibbs, didn't coach Taylor, but he understands the lasting legacy.

"I would never say, 'Let's move on from this,"' Zorn said. "It's really a devastating occurrence. Lives never are the same when a death happens or a tragedy like that happens. Sean has been a tremendous force here in D.C. and with the Redskins. We'll just remember him continually as we go on."

His locker at the team's training facility is intact, its contents undisturbed.

"It's hard to come here," said agent Drew Rosenhaus, who represented Taylor and works with more than a half-dozen current Redskins, "and not think about Sean."

The locker Taylor used at the Redskins' home stadium in Landover, Md., is sealed with Plexiglas, containing his No. 21 jersey stretched over shoulder pads along with a burgundy helmet, black shoes and white socks.

Cornerback Shawn Springs dresses at an adjoining locker in the stadium, so he grew accustomed by the end of last season to seeing that memorial. He wasn't as prepared for what he saw Saturday, when players reported for training camp and were shown a league-prepared film offering advice about personal safety.

At one point, the screen was filled with the words, "In Memory of Sean Taylor."

"That kind of hit home a little bit," Springs said. "But for the most part, it's a new season. That's behind us. Sean's still going to be with us in our hearts, but you've got to let it go."

Clearly, not all of the Redskins - or their fans - share that sentiment.

When players left the field after the morning practice, one fan handed a framed drawing of Taylor to Clinton Portis, who was also a teammate of Taylor's at the University of Miami.

Taylor jerseys dotted the announced crowd of more than 6,000 people who stood in 32-degree Celsius heat to watch practice - a white shirt with No. 21, not far from a burgundy one, not far from a blue Pro Bowl edition.

"You always feel you're a piece of the puzzle away. If you could go back and fit Sean into this scheme, that's a piece of the puzzle," Portis said a few hours later, after Sunday's afternoon session. "To me, it would feel like, 'We're there. We're the Super Bowl champs. Crown us.' But not having that, as a team, we've just got to come together and guys have got to work. You're never going to replace him."

A few moments later, Portis headed to the locker room to change out of his sweat-soaked uniform. When he emerged, Portis was wearing a green-orange-and-white Miami windbreaker, with Taylor's 21 on the chest.

"Sean - he's always here with us," Portis said. "He's always in the back of our mind."

(ap.com)

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)

Prosecutors have filed a motion asking for DNA samples from two of the men accused of killing Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor.

The motion, which was filed Tuesday, asks Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy to order Timmy Lee Brown and Eric Rivera to provide DNA samples to be compared against DNA found on a drawer handle and a window in Taylor's home after he was killed.

Taylor, a former star at the University of Miami, was shot during a botched robbery attempt in his Palmetto Bay home on Nov. 26, 2007. He died the next day.

Brown, 17, and Rivera, 18, and three other men, all of the Fort Myers area, were charged with first-degree murder in connection with the crime. One, Venjah K. Hunte, 20, has already pleaded guilty.

The other two, Charles Wardlow, 19, and Jason Mitchell, 20, have already submitted DNA samples.

A hearing on the DNA motion was scheduled for July 15.

(miamiherald.com)

A few days after the shooting death of NFL player Sean Taylor last year, one Fort Myers mother was unsatisfied with the answers her 16-year-old son was giving her.

Valerie Harris, the mother of Timmy Lee Brown, had heard about Taylor’s shooting on the news Nov. 26.

She hadn’t seen her son at all since Nov. 20, and she had also heard from Brown’s grandmother that police had come by asking about him.
When she next saw her son, on Nov. 30, Brown wouldn’t give her a specific answer about where he had been that weekend, other than to say he was with a friend. He didn’t say who the friend was.

“I asked him what was going on,” Harris said during an interview with investigators the following month. “His grandmother said the police was over her house looking for him. I said, ‘We need to go and turn you in and see what is going on. Why they keep bringing your name up?’ He said, ‘I didn’t do anything. I wasn’t there.’ So I said, ‘Well, for my mind’s sake we need to do this.’ ”

A transcript of that conversation between Harris and investigators was released this week by the State Attorney’s Office in Miami-Dade County, now that Brown has become the fifth suspect from Lee County to be arrested in the case. Brown will turn 17 years old in about a week.

The other suspects — Eric Rivera, 18, Charles Wardlow, 18, Jason Mitchell, 20, and Venjah Hunte, 20 — were arrested late last year. They all had been scheduled for August trials after being charged with first-degree murder and armed burglary, but Hunte took a plea deal earlier this month.

Brown, who is Wardlow’s cousin, was arrested May 14 in Lee County — a few days after the plea deal was agreed to — also on charges of first-degree murder and armed burglary. He transferred to a pre-trial detention center in Miami late last week.

Wardlow, Hunte, Rivera, Mitchell and Brown are all connected to each other by a mix of friendships, school, sports and family ties. There were also loosely linked to Taylor through the romance one of Wardlow’s relatives had with Taylor’s half-sister, and Mitchell had been to Taylor’s Palmetto Bay home before for a party where he saw Taylor’s wealth firsthand.

Investigators believe the men drove from Lee County the night of Nov. 25 in a rented SUV and attempted the burglary and shooting early Nov. 26.

Taylor, a 24-year-old player for the Washington Redskins, died from his injuries Nov. 27.

In Florida, suspects committing a felony that results in a death can be charged with murder, whether or not they were the ones to pull a trigger.

The death penalty has been waived for Mitchell, Rivera and Wardlow, and with Hunte’s plea deal, he is expected to serve 29 years in prison for second-degree murder and will cooperate with prosecutors.

(naplesnews.com)

MIAMI -- One of five suspects charged in the slaying of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor has pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder and burglary.

Defense attorney Michael Hornung said Thursday that according to the plea agreement, Venjah Hunte will serve 29 years in prison and cooperate with prosecutors.

Hunte pleaded guilty on Friday but prosecutors requested the plea agreement be sealed because investigators were pursuing the fifth suspect, Hornung said.

That suspect, 16-year-old Timothy Brown, was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and armed burglary of an occupied dwelling.
Brown was arrested in Lee County about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Miami-Dade Police said in a statement. He was awaiting transport to Miami-Dade County.

Brown did not yet have an attorney on record with the prosecutor's office, Griffith said, and it has not been determined if he will be tried with the four other suspects.

Court documents and police reports had previously suggested five people were involved in Taylor's death, but only four were originally charged.

Taylor, 24, died of massive blood loss after he was shot at his Miami-area home in November during a botched robbery. A trial for the four Fort Myers-area suspects is scheduled for Aug. 25.

Richard Sharpstein, a Miami defense attorney who has acted as spokesman for the Taylor family, expressed gratitude Wednesday for authorities' work on the case.

"The family is thankful that the investigation continues and that all individuals responsible for Sean's death meet harsh justice," he said.
Sharpstein said he could not speak about the facts of the case because of a gag order.

(espn.com)

MIAMI (AP) — Prosecutors in Miami say a fifth person has been charged in the slaying of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor.

Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office spokesman Ed Griffith says Wednesday that 16-year-old Timothy Brown is charged with first-degree murder under a sealed warrant.

The 24-year-old Taylor died of massive blood loss after he was shot at his Miami-area home during a botched robbery in November.

Brown is being held in Lee County. It's not immediately known when he'll be transferred to Miami-Dade County to face the charge.

Trial for the four Fort Myers-area suspects is set for Aug. 25. Prosecutors have said they will not seek the death penalty.

Miami-Dade prosecutors have waived the death penalty against the four suspects accused of murdering former Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor.

Eric Rivera, 18, Venjah Hunte, 20 and Charles Wardlow, 18, all of Fort Myers, and Jason Mitchell, 20, of Lehigh Acres, face charges of first-degree murder and armed burglary.

They will still face the possibility of life in prison, but Assistant State Attorney Reid Rubin sent notice to the defendants' attorneys late Friday he won't be seeking to kill them for the alleged crimes, said Hunte's attorney, Michael Hornung.

"They didn't leave Fort Myers with the intentions to shoot anyone or kill anyone," Hornung said. "They were going to make sure that person would lie down at gunpoint."

On Nov. 26, Miami-Dade police said, the four drove to Taylor's house. When they arrived, they broke into the Washington Redskins safety's house intending to burglarize it. But Taylor, 24, was at home with his wife and child, recovering from a sprained right knee.

The former Pro Bowl safety was shot in the leg and died of blood loss the next day.
According to Rivera's statement to investigators, five people drove to the house that night in a rented SUV, but only four arrests have been made.

Rivera, who was implicated as the shooter according to a grand jury indictment, was 17 at the time of the crime and wouldn't have been eligible for the death penalty under Florida law.

That complicated the process for prosecutors, Hornung said.

"It has a bad appearance to it," he said of seeking death against the non-shooters and not the alleged shooter.

Also according to the indictment, Mitchell was in the house wearing a mask during the armed burglary. Other reports released to the public have indicated the suspects used a 9 mm gun to shoot open a sliding glass door at the house. Dive teams searched off Alligator Alley after the shooting, but haven't found a weapon.

According to information previously released by police, Mitchell attended a birthday party in September at Taylor's home. He stayed at the house for several days, doing work around the house to prepare for the part and was paid $300 in cash.

Mitchell said he saw Taylor give his sister, Sasha Johnson, $10,000 in a paper bag as a present. Johnson was dating Wardlow's nephew at the time.

Investigators believe greed was motive for the defendants making the three-hour drive to the East Coast.

All four defendants have an Aug. 25 trial date

(news-press.com)

11. Devin Hester, Chicago Bears--This might be the most amazing guy on this list considering he only has 20 receptions in two years. I feel pretty confident in saying I never thought a kick returner would get this high.

18. Sean Taylor, Washington Redskins--A spot on this list is an unbelievable tribute to the late Taylor.

(mysportsradio.com)

MIAMI - A Miami judge denied bail Friday for one of the suspects in the slaying of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor.

Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy noted that 20-year-old Jason Scott Mitchell and three other suspects allegedly hatched their plot in the Fort Myers area and drove across the state intending to burglarize Taylor’s Miami-area home.

“Youth and guns have been such a prevalent issue of concern in our community. Now we’re getting it imported from other parts of the state,” Murphy said at a hearing. “I’m not sure any form of release would adequately protect the public.”

Like many other cities, Miami has seen a recent rise in murders. The most recent complete FBI data shows there were 77 murders in the city in 2006 compared with 54 the year before — and nearly three-quarters of all homicides nationally involve guns.

Murphy’s denial of bail for Mitchell came after the suspect’s mother, Louise Robertson, and several other relatives came to court wearing T-shirts bearing his picture. Robertson’s black shirt said “Mama’s Baby” on the front and “Free My Son” on the back.

“I need him home with me,” she said.

Prosecutors said they have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty against any of the suspects. Each is charged with first-degree murder and armed burglary in the Nov. 26 shooting of Taylor, an All-Pro safety for the Redskins and former All-American at the University of Miami.

Another suspect, 17-year-old Eric Rivera Jr., allegedly shot a machete-wielding Taylor in the confrontation inside the home. Mitchell told police they thought Taylor would be out of town because the Redskins were playing in Tampa that weekend, but Taylor was out with an injury.

Mitchell is a key to the case because he attended a birthday party in September at Taylor’s home and told police he saw the football player hand out bags of $10,000 in cash to his sister and brother as gifts.

The other two suspects are 20-year-old Venjah Hunte and 18-year-old Charles Wardlow. Trial for all four is scheduled for Aug. 25.

(nbcnews.com)

MIAMI, March 28 -- The murder trial of three of the four men accused of killing Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor was moved from early April to late August during a hearing Friday morning in Miami-Dade County state court.

Attorneys for Charles Wardlow, 19; Jason Scott Mitchell, 20; and Venjah Hunte, 20, told Circuit Court Judge Dennis J. Murphy they were not prepared to go to trial as scheduled April 7 because of delays in receiving information about the case from the prosecution.

Murphy reset the trial date for Aug. 25. He also signed and distributed copies of a gag order preventing comment on the case and scheduled a status hearing for Aug. 15.

The trial of the fourth defendant, Eric Rivera, 18, is also expected to be rescheduled when he appears in court Wednesday. Rivera's attorney, Clinton J. Pitts, had a conflict and could not appear Friday morning, according to Murphy.

The four men have been charged with first-degree felony murder and armed robbery in connection with the shooting of Taylor, who died Nov. 27 after surprising intruders in his Miami home the day before.

None of Taylor's family or close friends appeared in court Friday morning. Mitchell and Hunte appeared wearing red jumpsuits and handcuffs. Wardlow wore a maroon jumpsuit and handcuffs. All spoke only to affirm their attorneys' requests for the continuance.

Murphy set an April 25 bond hearing for Mitchell in response to a motion two weeks ago filed by Mitchell's attorney, Landon Miller, and he appointed a public defender to represent Wardlow, whose attorney, David Brener, resigned from the case after the appearance Friday because he had not been paid by Wardlow.

Murphy also set an April 28 deadline for the lead detective on the case, Juan Segovia, to file his report.

(ap.com)

L-R-G CLOTHING COMPANY along with Clinton Portis and Santana Moss, is proud to bring you The 3 Kings of Washington x L-R-G Windbreaker, a tribute to Sean Taylor. Taylor, before his untimely passing made a presence not only on the field as the Redskins prototype Safety, but also off the field with community events such as the 3 kings of Washington event, where Taylor, Moss, and Portis along with celebrity guests and players host a weekend of activities to show kids that they can one day become valuable participants and leaders in life.

A Lehigh Acres teen told prosecutors in January that the four Sean Taylor murder suspects came to her house the night they allegedly fatally shot the Washington Redskins star. Areyle Boston, 18, of 307 Homer Ave., said Eric Rivera, 17, Venjah Hunte, 20, Charles Wardlow, 18, all of Fort Myers, and Jason Mitchell, 19, of Lehigh Acres, came to her house Nov. 26, the night police believe the four drove to Miami and killed Taylor. Taylor was shot in the leg during a botched burglary and he died the next day. Her statement was released today as part of a public information records request by The News-Press.

According to Boston’s statement, the four left burglary tools at her house and her uncle took them away, saying she would get in trouble if police found them. Boston said she didn’t know the four were suspects in the murder then and she said they never contacted her after they were arrested. She said Jason Mitchell’s cousin tried to get Mitchell in contact with her, but she didn’t talk with him.

(news-press.com)

A Fort Myers teen said she was wrongly dragged into football player Sean Taylor’s murder case when the mother of a former friend told prosecutors she let the suspects use a rented vehicle Alexia Anderson, 19, of Fort Myers said Thursday she was made the scapegoat and has no connection to the crime.

“I got nothing to do with it,” she said. “It’s all on her, but she used my name.”

Anderson came to The News-Press on Thursday after seeing a story last week about documents Miami prosecutors released in Taylor’s case. Police believe Eric Rivera, 17, Venjah Hunte, 20, and Charles Wardlow, 18, all of Fort Myers, and Jason Mitchell, 19, of Lehigh Acres, drove to Miami on Nov. 26 to burglarize Taylor’s house. A grand jury indictment revealed Rivera shot the Washington Redskins safety in the leg. Taylor died the next day of blood loss.

Included in the documents released to The News-Press was a statement by Rosemarie Johnson of Lehigh Acres. Johnson told prosecutors and detectives in December she rented a Toyota Highlander for Anderson and Anderson gave the vehicle to Wardlow. Police said the four drove the Highlander to Miami to commit the crime.

But Anderson said Johnson’s daughter, Romaine, got $250 from Wardlow to use the vehicle. Anderson said Romaine told her the money would go to pay a phone bill and to style her hair.

Anderson said Rosemarie Johnson frequently rents vehicles for her daughter, who often lets friends use them for joy riding. Efforts to reach Johnson on Thursday were unsuccessful.

“She was lying,” Anderson said of her former friend. “The night before, she had already gotten the money from them boys.”

Anderson said she doesn’t know Wardlow, is a distant relative of Rivera and that she doesn’t know him very well.

She said she was upset and scared when she found out she has been connected to the case. She said detectives haven’t contacted her.

Prosecutors have been releasing documents from the case to the media, the most recent coming Wednesday — crime scene reports detailing how police believe the suspects got into Taylor’s house. All four have pleaded not guilty.

(news-press.com)

When Miami police got to Sean Taylor’s house Nov. 26, they found pry marks on a wooden door and a shattered glass sliding door, shot open apparently by a 9 mm gun.

The crime scene reports leave clues about the entry and departure of the intruders. About three dozen pages of documents were released Wednesday by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office as part of public information requests by news-press.com.

Eric Rivera, Venjah Hunte and Charles Wardlow, all of Fort Myers, and Jason Mitchell of Lehigh Acres are charged with murder and armed robbery in connection with Taylor’s death. The Washington Redskins All-Pro safety was shot in the leg Nov. 26 and died the next day due to blood loss.

Detectives found three bullet casings in the house, where the intruders came in through the back patio bathroom door, as well as shoe prints above the gate surrounding Taylor’s house. Detectives sent labs shoe-print impressions, DNA swab kits from inside and outside of the house as well as a paper receipt found outside the front of the house.

Also included in the documents is a report from Dec. 1, when Miami-Dade police divers searched an area of Interstate 75, looking for the weapon used to shoot Taylor. Detectives searched beyond a fence, one mile west of a toll plaza and north of the interstate. Two searches were fruitless for divers.

(news-press.com)

MIAMI - The alleged shooter in the murder of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor told police he and the other suspects burned their clothes in an attempt to cover up the crime.

The statement by 17-year-old Eric Rivera Jr. and those by two other suspects were released Wednesday by state prosecutors at the request of The Associated Press and other news outlets. All three statements are heavily redacted on a judge's orders, and do not contain outright confessions to the crime.

But there are hints throughout of what happened and what led up to the Nov. 26 shooting, which authorities say took place in a botched robbery attempt at Taylor's Miami home. Taylor, an All-Pro safety for the Redskins, died the next day from heavy blood loss. Click here to continue reading...

MIAMI (AP) — A rented sports utility vehicle is apparently involved in the November shooting of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor at his Miami home.

Court documents released Monday say the mother of a teenage girl rented a black Toyota Highlander, thinking the girl and a friend planned to attend a football game in Orlando. The mother told prosecutors she didn't know the girls would allow young men they knew to use the vehicle.

Her daughter, identified as R.L. in the documents, said Charles Wardlow and Eric Rivera drove the vehicle. It was later left at a Fort Myers school parking lot. Wardlow, Rivera and two other men are charged with fatally shooting Taylor.

(ap.com)

As he made his way from the autograph-seekers to the Washington Redskins locker room, the frazzle-haired safety wearing No. 21 was approached by a reporter.

"Time for the Sean Taylor press conference?" the reporter said with a smile and the faintest of hopes.

"Never," Taylor replied — and there was no smile on his face.

Four times over six days of training camp, the Redskins tentatively scheduled their enigmatic Pro Bowler to make a rare appearance before the notepads and microphones. Each time, Taylor said no at the last minute, maintaining the barrier that has kept fans from learning more about one of the fiercest hitters in football.

"Honestly, man, this thing's like a never-ending story every year," receiver Santana Moss said. "People ask questions more and more about Sean."

Other than the generosity of Dan Snyder's checkbook, no Washington Redskins topic generates more praise than the performance, future and personality of safety Sean Taylor.

His teammates point to his physical conditioning and mental aptitude as reasons why last year's Pro Bowl appearance is the first of many.

“He's a beast,” linebacker Marcus Washington said.

“On the field, he's an animal,” safety Pierson Prioleau said.

His coaches point to his emergence as a vocal leader and unselfishness to play any role at any place on the field as reasons why he remains the right guy to build a secondary around.

“It's amazing how he's found ways to improve,” assistant head coach-defense Gregg Williams said.

Driving from northern Virginia to Baltimore this afternoon for today's Preakness Stakes draw, I still had a hard time comprehending what I was going to say in this blog entry.

Sean Taylor did something smart by reporting to the Loudoun County Parkway on Tuesday for the second week of the Redskins' off-season practices/workouts/rehearsals/recesses.   
It boggles the mind, right?

Sean Taylor did something right.

Sean Taylor did something befitting a future leader.

Sean Taylor did something smart.

Sean Taylor did something that showed respect for his head coach.

Maybe the kid is getting it after all.

Safety Sean Taylor was a surprise participant as the Washington Redskins began their second week of organized team activities yesterday at Redskin Park.

Taylor, who had not been in touch with the coaching staff while absent last week, acted as if his return wasn't a big deal even though he and still-absent cornerback Shawn Springs had been the only players missing.

"I don't think there's a problem," said Taylor, who didn't participate in any voluntary offseason work in 2005 and wasn't a regular in 2006 either as his felony assault case made its way through the legal system. "I should've been here with everybody else, but I'm sure I'll make it up the next couple of weeks."

Earlier here at the FanHaus, we talked about Redskins safety Sean Taylor missing the Redskins voluntary workout last week. There have been rumblings that Taylor is mad about his contract situation. And now there are more rumblings that Taylor is miffed that the Skins failed to re-sign his buddy Ryan Clark last offseason. Either way, Taylor blew off the team.

Well, seems like Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs isn't too thrilled about the snub.

Washington Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs expressed surprise and dismay yesterday that neither starting free safety Sean Taylor nor starting cornerback Shawn Springs attended the first week of voluntary workouts. Springs said yesterday he plans to join the workouts the first week of June.

"With Sean Taylor, I've had no contact whatsoever," Gibbs said. "I'm not aware of anything there. That's about all I can say about it. I've had no contact."

Of course you can't have everything in Redskin Land. After drafting LaRon Landry to pair up with Sean Taylor in the secondary ... Taylor decides he isn't too cool with his contract. Taylor didn't show up for the Redskins' voluntary workout this week. He and Shawn Springs [who's Redskin career is up in the air] were the most notable absences. Yeah, it's voluntary, but the Redskins have been pushing for veterans to show up since they are allowing players to work out on their own time, away from the team. Also, the Skins were led to believe that Taylor was going to attend.

However, numerous players suggested that Taylor likely would not be in attendance, a byproduct of his possible displeasure with his contract. Sources said that team officials were hoping Taylor was merely taking personal time and preparing to join the workouts. Sources added that Director of Player Personnel Vinny Cerrato and Taylor's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, had been in discussions in recent weeks regarding a contract extension for Taylor, whose contract expires after the 2008 season.

WASHINGTON — While the majority of the Washington Redskins’ regular players were in attendance at the team’s first organized activities of the offseason Tuesday, two absences were noteworthy: Neither safety Sean Taylor nor cornerback Shawn Springs was at Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va.

It is unclear whether Taylor, who works out in Miami, plans to attend the workouts, which will be held Tuesday through Thursday of each week leading up to the June minicamp, with one week off. While attendance is voluntary, the coaching staff has encouraged players to attend, especially since Coach Joe Gibbs agreed to veterans’ demands that they be allowed to do their offseason conditioning away from Redskins Park this past winter.

Taylor attended the voluntary workouts sporadically in 2004 and not at all in 2005, then had perfect attendance last year. Springs, meanwhile, is in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he has been working out for the past three months and enduring an uncertain offseason with the Redskins. In February, the Redskins asked him to take a $2 million pay cut and he refused. In the interim, he has been part of trade scenarios. Springs said he planned to attend the voluntary workouts later in the month, but wanted to remain focused on his Arizona training.

After enduring a season of pronounced defensive breakdowns that resulted in a 5-11 record, Redskins assistant head coach-defense Gregg Williams said at the end of the season he planned to watch more film than he ever had in an attempt to pinpoint the specific problems, large and small.

In his first public comments of the new season, Williams mentioned a change he will make: For the first time in his tenure with the Redskins, his safeties will have traditional designations. Sean Taylor will be the free safety and LSU rookie LaRon Landry, should he win a starting role in training camp, will be the strong safety.

"I think that Sean Taylor's skill is that he can go so far to go and get balls, but we had to use him in the box an awful lot last year," Williams said. "He can do it all. He can do anything you want him to do. I think this young man can do that, too, and I'd like to put Sean Taylor more in the position to get the ball in the passing game."

But there was no confusion about the best play: Sean Taylor, the maverick Washington Redskins safety, broke the unwritten rule about hard hits in an exhibition when he viciously leveled Buffalo Bills punter Brian Moorman on an attempted fake in the third quarter.

(baltimoresun.com)

ASHBURN, Va. -- Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor was added to the NFC's Pro Bowl roster Monday after Brian Dawkins of the Philadelphia Eagles withdrew because of personal reasons.

Taylor, who will be making his first Pro Bowl appearance, was a first alternate when Pro Bowl rosters were announced in December. He had an erratic season--making only one interception for a defense that ranked 31st in the league--but he led the Redskins with 129 tackles and showed ability to intimidate wide receivers with jarring hits.

Taylor, the No. 5 pick from Miami in the 2004 draft, joints left tackle Chris Samuels as the Redskins' representatives to the Pro Bowl, which will be played Saturday in Honolulu.

(AP)

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) - Sean Taylor got fooled twice on the same play.

He bit when Donte' Stallworth faked an out pattern, then bit again when Donovan McNabb faked a handoff. A few seconds later, Stallworth was racing toward the end zone with Taylor trailing helplessly in his wake, having caught a deep pass from McNabb over the middle for an 84-yard touchdown.

This was the year Taylor was supposed to be the beast, "the best player in the NFL," according to teammate Clinton Portis. The Washington Redskins safety, who was in constant trouble during his first two seasons, finally had his legal problems behind him and was free to concentrate on terrifying receivers, quarterbacks and running backs league-wide.

ASHBURN - The Sean Taylor almost no one sees stood in front of his locker Wednesday as a small procession of news people came by, one by one, to offer congratulations on his being named NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Taylor turned to face each person, flashed a bright, friendly smile, and replied, "Thank you very much."

But when someone asked for a few minutes of his time, a few words of wisdom, Taylor smiled again, shook his dreadlocked head and turned away.

When the Washington Redskins drafted Sean Taylor fifth overall in 2004, they envisioned afternoons like Sunday. Taylor would help stifle the run, hit like a linebacker, bruise receivers and track down long passes for interceptions. On Sunday, Taylor did all of that in a 17-13 victory over Carolina, but it was the highlight of an otherwise pedestrian season.

Taylor struggled along with the entire defense, languishing in coverage, racking up personal fouls and seemingly being out of sorts at times as the Redskins won only three of their first 10 games. On Sunday, he seemed at ease, dancing along with the rest of the players during timeouts and working with new starting safety Vernon Fox, who was filling in for injured Troy Vincent. With about two minutes to play, Taylor made a swooping, one-on-one tackle on wide receiver Drew Carter, driving him to the ground two yards shy of the marker on fourth down. When the Panthers drove again a minute later, Taylor read quarterback Jake Delhomme's long pass and intercepted it in the end zone to cement the victory.

"That game was testament to him as a player, his all-around tackling and going after the ball," Fox said. "You got to see every facet of his game Sunday, and we're just hoping that as the weeks continue to progress you'll see more of that. He's a great player, and when he's clicking on all cylinders you get to see those types of performances."

Taylor posted six tackles, an interception and a pass defensed in Washington's 17-13 victory over Carolina. He made two key plays down the stretch to contribute to the win. He prevented a crucial first down with 2:16 remaining when Carolina's Drew Carter caught a short pass on 4th-and-6 but got stopped by Taylor two yards short of the marker. Taylor then sealed the win with an interception on the Panthers' final drive.

(seattlepi.com)

There was the third-and-8 play on which he covered for the cornerback and interrupted a potential drive-extending completion.

There was the third-and-14 play on which he gathered a head of steam and stopped the running back 8 yards shy of a first down.

There was the fourth-and-6 play on which he made an athletic, open field tackle, again stopping the play short of a first down.

And there was the victory-cementing interception with 55 seconds left.

Four keys plays in the Washington Redskins' 17-13 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. All made by safety Sean Taylor.

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) - Sean Taylor got fooled twice on the same play.

He bit when Donte' Stallworth faked an out pattern, then bit again when Donovan McNabb faked a handoff. A few seconds later, Stallworth was racing toward the end zone with Taylor trailing helplessly in his wake, having caught a deep pass from McNabb over the middle for an 84-yard touchdown.

This was the year Taylor was supposed to be the beast, ``the best player in the NFL,'' according to teammate Clinton Portis. The Washington Redskins safety, who was in constant trouble during his first two seasons, finally had his legal problems behind him and was free to concentrate on terrifying receivers, quarterbacks and running backs league-wide.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Unlike much of the NFL, the New York Giants did not shy away from Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor in Sunday's 19-3 victory. Rather, when they had the chance to exploit him in pass coverage, they went right after him with Plaxico Burress.

Burress, who caught seven passes for 69 yards, got the majority of that yardage on a play on which he torched Taylor in man-to-man coverage. Later, he beat Taylor on a 2-yard scoring reception, the game's lone touchdown.

With the score tied at 3, Burress beat Taylor deep down the field and hauled in a 46-yard pass that led to a go-ahead field goal.

IRVING, Texas - Is Sean Taylor's hard-nosed reputation working against him and the Washington Redskins?

The Redskins sent one of two personal fouls called against Taylor in the fourth quarter of Monday night's loss to Minnesota to the league office for review. The 15-yarder was called as a helmet-to-helmet hit on Marcus Robertson, and it kept the Vikings from having to punt from the shadow of their own end zone.

The league has announced that it will not fine Taylor for the hit, which replays showed seemed to have been made more with his shoulder than the helmet.

There's no question Sean Taylor plays hard and often plays well. Taylor, the Washington Redskins' third-year, hard-hitting Pro Bowl safety in the making, is always going full speed -- from post-practice sprints to covering kickoffs to every defensive snap -- and played the second half of last season on a bum ankle.
    His helmet-rattling hits have produced plenty of oohs from crowds around the NFL.
    But like every safety, Taylor walks the line between clean hits and those that officials perceive as unnecessary shots against defenseless players. The conundrum -- which developed in 2004 and late in 2005 -- flared up again in the Redskins' season-opening loss to Minnesota on Monday.
    Taylor was called for two 15-yard personal foul penalties -- a late hit on Marcus Robinson and a face mask of Troy Williamson -- in the fourth quarter, and the second led to the Vikings' game-winning field goal. The first penalty was iffy at best and an egregious error at worst.

SHBURN, Va. (AP) - Clinton Portis' expression turned serious at the mention of Sean Taylor. Portis is a showman known for hyperbole, and this time he wanted to make sure that his words would not be treated as a joke.

"We're talking about someone who I think probably is the best player in the NFL," Portis said. "Not best safety _ best player in the NFL."

Maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but it is true that there is a growing consensus that the Washington Redskins safety has the potential to be a once-in-a-generation player. He hits like a linebacker. He can cover like a cornerback. His intensity is unmatched. His face, hardened by tough inner-city experiences, rarely cracks a smile. On the field, he is one serious, mean dude.

No wonder former teammate LaVar Arrington nicknamed him "The Grim Reaper."

"He is the best football player I've ever coached," said assistant coach Gregg Williams, who has been at the trade for 17 years.