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CORAL GABLES, Fla. >> Seven people were charged Wednesday with trespassing at former Miami Heat player Ray Allen’s home while his wife and four young children were asleep upstairs.
Police say 18- and 19-year-olds were attending a party next door when they entered throughout the front door of the unlocked Coral Gables home last week. Shannon Allen said she woke up and heard male voices with large flashlights loudly discussing their personal property. The terrified mother screamed, the intruders ran and she called police, according to a statement from the couple.
The group told police they thought the Allens had moved and wanted to see how a professional basketball player lives. Police initially released the teens because there was no forced entry, no intent and nothing was taken. At the time, the Allens’ attorney said the couple was upset that charges weren’t filed because a crime had been committed that left the family feeling scared and vulnerable.
Shannon Allen gave sworn testimony to the state prosecutors to support the filing of charges, her attorney Gregory Victor said. The couple could have declined to press charges.
He said the Allens did not have a position on what specific charges should be filed, saying that decision was left to state prosecutors. If convicted, the seven could each face up to a year in prison for the first-degree misdemeanor trespassing charge. Victor said none lived in the Allens’ neighborhood and the couple did not know them.
“Nobody’s upset with the police and we’re satisfied that charges have been filed and there will be consequences for the actions,” Victor said.
