The gun that killed Washington Redskins football star Sean Taylor was stuffed in a white sock and flung into the Everglades soon after the shooting, according to a new account from an attorney for one of the men accused in the homicide case.

Attorney Michael Hornung said in an interview that his client, Venjah Hunte, wants to help prosecutors convict Taylor's killer. To begin with, he would like to help police find the murder weapon.

According to Hornung:

The four men charged with Taylor's death, plus a fifth unnamed suspect who hasn't been arrested, set off together from the Fort Myers area on Nov. 25 without discussing what they were going to do in Miami.

When the group arrived at Taylor's Palmetto Bay home, Hunte noticed several luxury cars in the driveway and asked who owned the house. The others told him it was Taylor's home and that there was a lot of money -- as much as $200,000 -- in a black bag in one of the bedrooms.

At least one of the men said he had stolen $5,000 from Taylor's home earlier.

The men thought Taylor wouldn't be home that night because the Redskins had a game in Tampa that Sunday afternoon and even though he was injured, they thought he would be with the team.

The group climbed over a four- or five-foot fence around Taylor's yard and used a crowbar to break into a bathroom near the pool.

Two men -- Eric Rivera and Jason Mitchell -- went inside. A few minutes later, Mitchell ran out of the house claiming he heard a noise.

Hunte, Mitchell, Charles Wardlow and the unnamed suspect all scrambled back over the fence. Rivera came after them and convinced Mitchell to go back into the house, saying he had made the noise and no one was home.

A few minutes later, Hunte heard a gunshot and then a scream inside the house. Mitchell and Rivera came running out and the group piled into their car and fled.

On the way back to Fort Myers, the group stopped by the side of Alligator Alley about two miles west of the exit to the Miccosukee Indian reservation to throw out the gun. They put the gun in a white sock, apparently to make it easier to fling into the muck.

Back in Fort Myers, Mitchell and Rivera burned their clothes and two masks.

NEW INFORMATION

Hornung is hoping Hunte's account will help police find the gun. He said Hunte was honest with police when they questioned him, but that no one asked him specifics about the gun.

Miami-Dade police declined to comment on Hunte's version of events, but they have already searched an area of the Everglades off Alligator Alley.

''It's still an active investigation and we can't comment on those kinds of details,'' spokesman Roy Rutland said. ``We don't release information in fear that it may compromise the investigation.''

Much of the account Hornung provided matches other details that have emerged. Investigators believe Mitchell was involved in a prior burglary at the home. Officials don't believe much was taken during that burglary. Mitchell was also in the home in October to attend a birthday party for Taylor's sister, Sasha Johnson. Wardlow is a cousin of Johnson's boyfriend.

The grand jury indictment lists Rivera as the shooter and notes that Mitchell wore a mask during the break-in.

Taylor's girlfriend, Jackie Garcia, and their infant daughter were both in the house when he was shot the morning of Nov. 26. He died the next day.

SET FOR ARRAIGNMENT

Hunte, 20, Rivera, 17, Mitchell, 19, and Wardlow, 18, are all facing first-degree murder charges and are set to be arraigned Friday. All four have pleaded not guilty. The Miami-Dade state attorney's office has not decided whether to pursue the death penalty for the three adults. Rivera is ineligible for the death penalty because he's a minor.

Hornung said he is hoping to work out a plea deal in exchange for Hunte's testimony against the other three and the information he can provide detectives.

''He just wants people to know that he had no idea that there were any guns, that there was going to be any violence, that anyone would be hurt and just feels terrible that Mr. Taylor lost his life in front of his child and his fiancée,'' Hornung said.

State attorney's office spokesman Ed Griffith said earlier Thursday that no deal had been arranged for any of the four suspects yet.

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