MIAMI -- The father of the teenager accused of pulling the trigger on Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor offered his condolences to Taylor's family before his son and three others were set to be arraigned Friday.

"We want to give to the Taylor family our prayers and also all the families involved in this real sad tragedy," said Eric Rivera Sr. outside the courtroom where his son appeared.

Taylor's father, Pedro Taylor, sat for a brief time in the crowded courtroom right in front of Rivera's father before moving to a seat on the other side of the room. The two men did not speak to each other.

Eric Rivera Jr. is charged with first-degree murder, along with Venjah Hunte, 20, Charles Wardlow, 18, and Jason Mitchell, 17, in Taylor's death.

Taylor died the morning of Nov. 27, one day after he was shot in his Palmetto Bay home during a break-in.

Hunte's attorney, Michael Hornung, said his client wants to cooperate with prosecutors in the case. That could mean testifying against the others in exchange for a plea deal.

"My client from the very, very beginning has maintained and has been consistent with wanting to be honest and accept responsibility for what he was involved in," said Hornung. "There's degrees of responsibility."

In a statement about the killing, Hunte claims Rivera and Mitchell used a crowbar to break into Taylor's home, believing there was as much as $200,000 in cash in a bag hidden somewhere inside.

After Taylor was shot, Hunte claims, the group drove back to Fort Myers across Alligator Alley and dumped the gun, wrapped in a white sock, into the Everglades about two miles west of the exit for the Miccosukee gaming facility. Police searched for the weapon, but they haven't said if the gun was recovered.

Judge Dennis Murphy cautioned lawyers about saying too much about what the suspects have told police, warning that he could impose a gag order during a hearing set for next month. The trial was set for April.

"We're still in real bad shape about the whole thing," said Eric Rivera Sr. "We put everything in God's hands and hope for the best out of a real sad situation."