Florida Man Offered $5,000 and 'Some Cocaine' to Kill Teenage Girl: Police
An alleged rapist and two killers for hire have been indicted in Florida after a teenager was murdered for going to the police about being raped.
The 17-year-old female was shot dead in February this year by two men, Sheldon Robinson and Keshawn Woods, who were hired by the man she had accused of rape, Lenard White.
The murder rate in Florida is 9.7 per 100,000 people, which ranks the state 19th in the country for highest rates of homicide, according to the FBI. The Sunshine State has one of the highest totals of gun deaths in the country, with 3,041 in 2020.
Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said at a news conference that a federal grand jury indicted last week all three in a murder-for-hire plot that targeted the anonymous girl, known only as "I.S". Two of them were the allegedly hired killers, and the other was White. The 36-year-old reported on social media that he had a "clean up job to do" after the girl reported him for rape in February this year.
Nienhuis added that White said "$5,000 would be available to anyone that would be available to help him, as well as some cocaine," according to the local newspaper Tampa Bay Times.
White eventually paid $10,000 to Robinson, 21, and Woods, 22, who traveled to the girl's home on February 7, 2023. Investigators believe they shot the girl and her relative as they opened the door. A fatal wound found in her back showed that she was fired at while attempting to flee.
Following the killing, the pair are believed to have left the scene on foot. Investigators recovered a single shoe with DNA that matched Woods'.
In a search of their homes, $4,000 in cash and illegal drugs were found where Woods was living. A gun and ammunition consistent with the murder weapon, as well as ballistic evidence from the crime scene, were found at Robinson's home, along with $6,000 in cash.
As the killing took place, White traveled to Georgia in an effort to make a solid alibi for himself, prosecutors have said.
They were indicted on the charges of conspiracy to commit murder for hire, murder for hire, and the discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Roger Handberg, prosecuting, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida, said: "Murder investigations are never easy. In this case, several of the defendants undertook efforts to conceal their involvement and obstruct the investigation."
A statement made by the attorney's office of Florida's Middle District said that White, Robinson, and Woods "attempted to hinder the investigation by disposing of evidence, tampering with witnesses, obstructing justice, and making false statements to law enforcement." Robinson's mother, Janet Williams, has also been charged with multiple counts of false statements to federal agents.
If convicted on all counts, White, Robinson, and Woods each face mandatory life imprisonment, or the federal death penalty, but prosecutors are yet to indicate which sentence they will pursue. Janet Williams faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison for each of the three false statement counts.
Nienhuis described the 17-year-old as the "true victim" of the alleged crimes.
"We have every reason to believe that she was not engaged in any high-risk activity," Nienhuis said. "She was a good kid with a very bright future. To see her life cut short is heart-wrenching, to say the least."
Newsweek has contacted Hernando County Sheriff's Office for comment via phone call.
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