Consequences. (Exercising the Right).(Derrick Lemell Breedlove; college bound kid killed; life of crime revealed)(Brief Article)

Derrick Lemell Breedlove, 17, a senior this year at Dundalk High School in Dundalk, Maryland, had earned a football scholarship to attend Hampton University in Virginia this fall. His coach recalls the 6-foot 2-inch, 251-pound tight end and defensive end as "one of the best football players I ever coached.... He was a college-bound kid with college-bound grades."

But young Breedlove, unbeknownst to his coaches, school officials, and fellow students, made a bad choice that brought his bright future to a tragic end on March 13th, when he was shot and killed while attempting to rob a liquor store located a few blocks from the high school. It was subsequently learned that he was apparently the ringleader in a series of recent robberies in the area, including two at the same store in February.

According to police, Breedlove had robbed Modern Discount Liquors on February 5th, with a 17-year-old friend (a school dropout) serving as getaway driver. The shotgun-wielding bandit wore a red ski mask and fled with $1,745 in cash.

On February 22nd, this time adorned with a black wig and again armed with a shotgun, Breedlove allegedly robbed the store of $900, with the same accomplice driving the getaway car. Despite the wig, a store clerk recognized the robber as the same one who had perpetrated the earlier crime.

And then, shortly after 9 a.m. on March 13th, Breedlove entered the liquor store for a third ...