Leonard Little's brother shot to death

[mystykoekaki]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The younger brother of NFL player Leonard Little was shot to death and a 17-year-old girl was taken into custody after trying to flee police Tuesday.

Investigators found Jermaine Little, 24, lying on the floor of a friend's home about 5:30 p.m. Monday in Harriman, about 40 miles east of Knoxville where his brother once starred for the University of Tennessee.

Shot once in the side, Jermaine Little died at Roane County Medical Center.

Harriman police chief Jack Stockton said there was a dispute over money. Little's girlfriend, Jessica Butcher, claimed he owed her $500. "There was a physical altercation inside the residence and something happened," Stockton said.

The suspect, identified by witnesses as Bianca Nicole Taylor, who accompanied Butcher to the house, went outside to their car "and came back with a gun, allegedly, and fired one shot at the doorway," Stockton said.

Taylor is a resident of Oak Ridge, about 20 miles to the east. Oak Ridge police spotted her vehicle, chased her until she wrecked, then caught her after she ran to her apartment. She was being held in the Anderson County Jail with charges pending.

Leonard Little was a third-round selection in the 1998 draft by the Rams. A 2003 Pro Bowl selection and the Rams' best defensive player, Little, 30, has dealt with off-the-field issues before.

In 1999, he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Susan Gutweiler, 47, of suburban St. Louis, following a downtown car crash. Little's blood-alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit. He served three months in jail and was on probation for four years.

Earlier this year, he was found not guilty of drunken driving charges following a 2004 arrest in St. Louis County.

Rams interim coach Joe Vitt said Little was told of his brother's death after Monday night's 45-29 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. "Man, that was hard, that was tough," Vitt said.

He said Little flew back to St. Louis from Indianapolis with the team, then flew to Tennessee to be with his family.



Sad news, sad news.

[Kingctb27]

Pitiful what some people will do these days.

R.I.P.

[Warhawk]

Things are really going downhill fast for the Rams.

[bagobonez]

Too bad it wasn't Leonard Little himself instead. ANyone who kills someone while driving drunk and then gets pulled over for DUI again deserves to die IMHO.

[ThunderSnarfer]

bagobonez.

[maddog60]

Eh, I gotta side with bags on this one. I feel sorry for his family and his brother, but if someone had to die, Leonard Little certainly had it coming after what he's done. However, there's no need to divert the issue.

I feel very sorry for anyone hurt at all by this (especially the for the deceased), with the exception of Leonard Little himself.

[eaglesfan]

Too bad it wasn't Leonard Little himself instead. ANyone who kills someone while driving drunk and then gets pulled over for DUI again deserves to die IMHO.

My thoughts exactly!

[Paladyr]

Too bad it wasn't Leonard Little himself instead. ANyone who kills someone while driving drunk and then gets pulled over for DUI again deserves to die IMHO.

Yea it's horrible to say but you have to be a pretty big scumbag to kill someone while driving drunk, and then continue driving drunk.

[Pete123444]

It's terrible to see a 24 year old shot and killed over 500 dollars.


Maybe this will change big brother's outlook on life and death and what he did when he killed someone driving drunk?

[bagobonez]

It's terrible to see a 24 year old shot and killed over 500 dollars.


Maybe this will change big brother's outlook on life and death and what he did when he killed someone driving drunk?

One can hope, but I wouldn't hold my breath.