NBA's Allen's may press trespassing charges against Miami teens

[August 19, 2014]  By Zachary Fagenson
 
 MIAMI (Reuters) - Miami Heat basketball star Ray Allen is likely to press charges against a group of teenagers who in the middle of the night slipped into his south Florida home, entering the bedroom where his wife Shannon and four children were sleeping, officials said.

“Shannon, Ray and (their lawyer) are going to be meeting with authorities,” family spokeswoman Meredith Geisler told Reuters on Monday.

Allen, in a statement questioned the decision of law enforcement officials, who said they were unable to charge the seven 18 and 19 year-olds with burglary or trespassing.

“The suggestion that anyone can unlawfully enter into someone’s locked home and then into an occupied bedroom in the middle of the night without consequences is unsettling,” Allen said in a statement to Reuters on Monday.
 

The group, which had been attending a nearby party, entered Allen’s home around 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning and fled after startling Shannon Allen while she slept, according to Coral Gables police spokeswoman Kelly Denham.

There was not enough evidence to charge the group with burglary, and police could not charge trespassing as no officer saw the incident, officials said. Only a member of the family who witnessed it can file charges, said Denham.

“While I believe that the Allens will be acting to press misdemeanor criminal charges, as of this moment no action has yet occurred,” said Miami Dade state attorney spokesman Ed Griffith.

Ray Allen, 39, who was not at home at the time of the incident, joined the Heat in 2012. He is now a free agent and has yet to announce whether he will play next season or retire.

(Editing by David Adams. Editing by Andre Grenon)

[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.