Marquis D. Sanders Taheem L. Blake, 17, and Marquis D. Sanders, 18, have been charged in the murder of 55-year-old Maria Lerma during a botched robbery at a Bradenton home on Feb. 1.cell phone belonging to a Palmetto teenager charged with murder indicates the boy may be connected to a gang, Bradenton police said.
Police said Blake and Sanders broke into the home in the 900 block of 25th Street East at about 5:45 a.m. and shot two residents, killing Lerma.During the attack, a third resident retrieved a gun and shot Blake. The bullet struck Blake’s spine, and the former Palmetto High School football player is now paralyzed from the neck down, according to reports.As paramedics treated Blake at the home, they found a cell phone in his sock.A police sergeant later attempted to answer the ringing phone, discovering text on the display that read, “MUTT CREW 4 LIFE,” according to a search warrant issued Friday.Mutt Crew is a criminal street gang, the report stated.
Police said they seized the cell phones belonging to Blake and Sanders to search all calls, messages and contacts.
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