Fox Sports reports that authorities have detained at least three people in the Fort Myers area for questioning in the death of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor. A law enforcement official in Lee County confirmed the men from the Fort Myers area were in custody, but requested anonymity because the investigation is being handled by Miami-Dade County police. Miami-Dade police Detective Carlos Maura said he was not aware of anyone in custody. He said only that detectives were in the Fort Myers area for a case, but declined to say which one. The Miami Herald, which first reported the development on its Web site, said investigators believe three suspects learned of Taylor’s house through someone who unwittingly set up the burglary by bragging about his wealth. The suspects include two teenagers and a man in his 20s, all from the Fort Myers area, the paper reported.
Richard Sharpstein, a former Taylor lawyer and family friend, confirmed the law enforcement report. “It’s my understanding that three individuals are in custody. A house is being searched,” Sharpstein said, without disclosing who had given him the information. He repeated previous statements that the burglary did not appear to be random, and that the 24-year-old’s house had been targeted. Evidence at Taylor’s home indicated one or more intruders barged into the house early Monday in an attempted burglary, Miami-Dade police director Robert Parker said Wednesday. As previously reported, Taylor and longtime girlfriend, Jackie Garcia, were awakened by loud noises at Taylor’s home in an affluent Miami suburb, Sharpstein has said. Taylor grabbed a machete he keeps in the bedroom for protection, Sharpstein said, then someone broke through the bedroom door and fired two shots, one missing and one hitting Taylor in the upper leg. Neither the couple’s 18-month-old daughter, also named Jackie, nor Garcia were injured in the attack.