BRADENTON — Two high school football players have been arrested on charges they killed a 55-year-old woman during a botched home invasion robbery. One of the teenagers is paralyzed after one of the robbery victims shot back, according to the Bradenton Police Department.
Detectives arrested Palmetto High School students Ta Heem Blake, 17, a former running back for the school, and Marquis Sanders, 18, who transferred from Bayshore High School. They face charges in the shooting death of Maria Lerma early Sunday, Bradenton Police Deputy Chief William Tokajer said.
Blake and Sanders are accused of barging into Lerma’s home in the 900 block of 25th Street East just before 6 a.m. Sunday in a robbery attempt.
The teens found Lerma and two men in the home when they entered, and Blake opened fire with an SKS rifle, according to Tokajer. Detectives say he killed Lerma, and shot one of the men in the house in the arm.
Sanders had a pistol in his hand but did not fire, according to Tokajer.
The teens did not count on one of the men in the home pulling his own gun, firing and hitting Blake. Police officers and emergency personnel found Blake shot in the driveway.
Sanders escaped but Blake’s injuries left him paralyzed with a severed spine. Tokajer said detectives have obtained an arrest warrant for Blake on a murder charge, and Pinellas County deputies were expected to serve Blake at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg on Monday night.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office would not confirm Monday night if Blake had been served because he is a minor.
The Manatee State Attorney’s Office plans to charge him as an adult, Tokajer said. Blake was conscious Monday but refused to talk about the shooting.
“He is not being cooperative,” Tokajer said.
But Tokajer said Sanders confessed after detectives took him into custody at Palmetto High School on Monday afternoon. Tokajer declined to say what led detectives to the former Bayshore High School football and basketball player.
For much of the day, police questioned Sanders and arrested him on a murder charge. He was booked into the Manatee County jail Monday night, jail officials said.
The shooting came as a shock to both police and school officials.
“This was an aggressive and shocking crime. These are two youths, with what appears to be promising lives that have been ruined by their actions,” Tokajer said.
“I hope kids will take this as a lesson how fast they can ruin their lives and the lives of others.”
Manatee School District spokeswoman Margi Nanney declined to comment on how the boys may be disciplined by the district, citing confidentiality rules.
“It is really a tragic situation. These students will have to face the consequences of their actions,” Nanney said.
The charges come a little more than six months after Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested another local football player on a murder charge.
Lakewood Ranch High School quarterback Tim Brooks remains in jail awaiting a trial on a first-degree murder indictment in the July 2008 shooting and robbery of William White Jr.
Sheriff’s reports say Brooks shot and killed White, 19, during a botched robbery.
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