INVESTIGATION
5th man sought in Taylor shooting
Related Content
BY DAVID OVALLE
dovalle@MiamiHerald.com
As detectives hunted for a fifth suspect in Sean Taylor's death Monday, the defense attorney for one defendant said his client was recruited only as a driver and knew nothing of the burglary plan.
Venjah K. Hunte, 20, was recruited because he had a valid driver's license, said attorney Michael Hornung.
''He adamantly denies knowing any of the individuals had a gun. Obviously, when he was on the property for the first time, he knew of a gun when he heard two shots,'' Hornung said.
Police say Hunte, Eric Rivera, 17, Jason Mitchell, 19, and Charles Wardlow, 18, planned to burglarize the football star's Palmetto Bay home, not kill him.
Taylor was shot in his bedroom as he surprised the young men with a machete. Rivera is believed to be the shooter.
Hornung said Hunte drove only for about the first 30 minutes from Fort Myers but stopped when he was not told their destination.
The four on Monday were being held in Lee County Jail. They may be brought to Miami-Dade County as early as Tuesday, said a Miami-Dade state attorney's spokesman. A police spokeswoman said ``sometime this week.''
Miami-Dade police would not talk about a fifth possible suspect. Mitchell's attorney, Sawyer Smith, confirmed a fifth suspect was being sought but declined to elaborate.
The four are charged with felony murder, home invasion robbery and armed burglary.
Join the discussion
The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.




















My Yahoo
@Nyx.replyAnswerText@