Blades Freed On Bond Leaves Florida For Seahawks Camp; More Evidence Implicates Receiver

Reaching the top of the stairs in Brian Blades’ condominium, Wilbur Peterson heard tussling coming from another room where Blades and his cousin Charles were alone. He heard Charles say, “Put the gun down.”

Then Peterson saw Charles slump to the floor in the doorway.

Above him stood Brian, holding the .380 semiautomatic handgun that fired the fatal bullet into Charles’ head. That new statement, gleaned by detectives Monday in a follow-up interview with Peterson, is a major reason the Seahawks receiver now faces arrest on suspicion of manslaughter in the first degree, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

The typical sentence is shorter - three to seven years - and some convictions carry no more than probation, said Chuck Morton, assistant state attorney in charge of homicides in Broward County, Fla. It depends on the circumstances of the death, he said.

On Wednesday, Blades posted a $10,000 bond. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said Blades would report to the Seahawks’ training camp Friday.

The hometown football hero has refused to speak to police and remained silent as he was followed by a crush of reporters and photographers into and out of the Broward County Jail.

Blades, 29, wore a red, white and blue warmup jacket emblazoned with the letters USA as he surrendered. He spent 90 minutes in jail going through the booking process.

However, police are still operating under the assumption that the shooting of Charles Blades on July 5 was unintentional, said Sgt. Mike Price of the Plantation police department. But detectives, after conferring with Morton’s office, felt there was enough evidence pointing to negligence on Brian Blades’ part that the arrest warrant was issued Tuesday before presenting it to a grand jury.

A grand jury is still likely to determine whether charges will be filed against Blades, Morton said. Sometime in the next three weeks, jurors will hear the evidence and make a decision on charges, which could be amended to murder or dismissed altogether, he said.

But either way, Blades, 29, appears in for a tough fight in proving he was not negligent, amid the new testimony from Peterson.

In an affidavit filed Tuesday, police wrote that Brian Blades, his brother Bennie Blades, Charles Blades, Peterson and family friend Lorenzo Johnson were out celebrating in a limousine on the evening of July 4.

The group went to a restaurant and lounge, where Brian Blades had at least two beers, then went briefly to a strip club, where everyone but Brian was served alcoholic drinks, according to the affidavit.

Then after talking via cellular phone with a police officer who had been called to his townhome in Plantation because of a child-custody dispute, Bennie directed the limousine back to his house, police say. Upon arriving, Bennie got into an argument on the lawn with his former girlfriend, Carol Jamerson.

When Brian Blades intervened, Bennie began arguing with his brother and shoved him, police say. That caused Brian to declare that he was going to get his gun to confront his younger, heavier brother. Charles Blades, who has been described as a peacemaker who regularly kept the Blades brothers out of trouble, followed Brian into his nearby house to try and keep him from bringing a gun into the situation, police say. Trailing at some distance behind them was Peterson and Johnson.

While Brian and Charles were in his office together, Johnson “stated he heard Brian Blades say ‘let loose the gun,”’ detectives wrote in the affidavit. “Wilbur Peterson heard Charles Blades say ‘put the gun down.’ At this time, one gunshot was heard and Wilbur Peterson and Lorenzo Johnson approached the office door and saw Charles Blades slump to the floor.”

Forensic tests show that the gun was no more than 4 inches from Charles’ head when the bullet penetrated his chin and traveled upward into his skull. That “eliminates it as an accident,” Price said.

A second shot, which penetrated a desktop in the room, came later, after Peterson and Johnson left the residence to let Bennie and others know about the shooting. They heard it upon returning to Brian’s home. Police are uncertain as to why Brian may have fired it, but doubt that it occurred because Brian slammed the gun on the desktop and accidentally discharged the bullet, Price said.

After calling 911, Blades picked up the gun again and tried to fire a third shot, but the chamber was empty and the magazine was out, so no shot was fired, police say. Price said Blades was not aiming at anyone in particular.

Blades was unavailable for comment and has not spoken on the case except to issue a brief public statement last Tuesday declaring that the shooting was an accident.

Price said police still have no indication that Blades will break his silence to detectives about the events of that evening. They are relying on witnesses to place the gun in Brian’s hand.

As often happens, there were no discernable fingerprints on the gun, Price said. Detectives are still waiting to find out if gun residue was found on Brian’s hand, based on a sample that was taken the evening of the shooting.

After posting bond in South Florida, Blades could return to Seattle and the Seahawks by the weekend.

“The thing he’s got to do is get back there and get this thing taken care of for good and then get back here and go on,” Seahawks coach Dennis Erickson said. “We all know this was an accident.”