Four people have been charged in connection with a $10,000 murder-for-hire plot against a teenage girl after she reported a man had sexually assaulted her, the Justice Department said.
Isabella Scavelli, 17, appeared at the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office in Florida on February 6 and claimed that Lenard White – a 36-year-old man with multiple aliases – had sexually assaulted her.
White is accused of paying Keshawn Woods, 22, and Sheldon Robinson, 21, to kill the teenager, according to WFLA.
On February 7, Scavelli was fatally shot four times in his home with his mother who accompanied him to file a report after two men knocked on the victim’s door and opened fire.
Scavelli’s mother was seriously injured in the shooting, Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said at a news conference Thursday.
“The bullet that caused his death entered his lower left rear area, indicating that he was shot in the back as he tried to escape,” said attorney for the Middle District of Florida Roger Handberg during a press conference.
Isabella Scavelli was killed in her home a day after she filed a police report against a man accused of plotting her murder.
“He was a good kid with a very bright future and to see his life cut short was heartbreaking,” Nienhuis said at the news conference.
Police revealed that White – also known as Len, Mike Williams, and Stick – was named as a suspect in the shooting following a report filed against him the day before.
According to Fox 13, White traveled to Georgia the night of the teenager’s shooting.
A K9 unit was deployed to the home shortly after the shooting and located a red Nike shoe with Woods’ DNA on it.
Lenard White is accused of hiring two men to kill Scavelli after she filed a police report against him for allegedly sexually assaulting her. DNA evidence the Sheriff’s Office found near the crime scene linked Keshawn Woods to the murder. Hernando County Sheriff’s Office
Robinson, 21, had asked for help with grizzly killings for hire, saying he had a “cleanup job” and would give anyone willing to help him $5,000 and cocaine, according to HCSO.
Woods agreed to take part in the attack, police revealed.
Within hours of the murder, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Woods’ home and found nearly $4,000 in cash, along with guns and illegal drugs.
Images from the video allegedly show Robinson displaying cash and cocaine while recruiting Woods’ help.
A box 9 mm, which matched the one found in the murder, was found after police searched Robinson’s residence and ballistics tests were performed.
Investigators found the murder weapon buried in Robinson’s backyard.
In the months that followed, the sheriff’s office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) launched a joint investigation, Nienhuis said.
An unnamed Scavelli relative was also seriously injured in the shooting, Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said at a press conference Thursday.Fox 13
Robinson’s mother, Janet Williams, found another $6,000 used to pay for the attack but did not report her findings to authorities.
Williams was charged with three counts of making false statements because he was caught on a taped call with his son and denied finding the money when confronted by the ATF.
“They asked me…do you get a lot of money? I said No. But, you do get a lot of money,” Williams said, according to the outlet.
Robinson’s mother, Janet Williams, was also arrested for allegedly lying to the ATF on her son’s behalf. Fox 13
White, the alleged mastermind of this heartless murder-for-hire plot, was arrested on February 15 on sex charges filed before the teenager’s death.
The three men were charged with multiple charges, including murder for hire, conspiracy to commit murder for hire, discharging a firearm while in and in connection with a crime with violence causing death and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime. .
White and Robinson will appear in court on Nov. 9.
If convicted, White, Robinson, and Woods each face mandatory life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Williams, who was released on the condition of house arrest, faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
