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Attorney says fatal Taylor burglary nearly didn't occur

The burglary that led to the shooting death of NFL star Sean Taylor almost didn't happen when one suspect heard a noise and wanted to flee, an attorney close to the case said on Friday.

But the lawyer, Richard Sharpstein, said the alleged triggerman told police he was the cause of the noise and talked the others into continuing, leading to a confrontation early on Nov. 26 that ended with a machete-wielding Taylor fatally shot.

Sharpstein, a veteran Miami defense attorney, said his information came from unreleased statements to police given by the four suspects in the case. They are being held without bail and face arraignment on murder and other charges on Dec. 21.

Those statements, Sharpstein said, indicate 19-year-old Jason Mitchell and 17-year-old Eric Rivera went to the house while the other two -- Venjah Hunte, 20, and Charles Wardlow, 18 -- stayed outside, where there was a getaway car.

At some point, Mitchell got spooked by noises and ran out of Taylor's house but was persuaded to return by Rivera, who said it was he who had caused the noise. Mitchell and Rivera apparently had been involved in an earlier burglary at Taylor's home, Sharpstein said.

Investigators have said the suspects did not expect Taylor to be at home the night of the burglary, but he was not with the Washington Redskins because he had suffered a knee injury and was allowed to return to Miami.
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