Slain teenage athlete eulogized in Cleveland

CLEVELAND (AP) -- The pastor who eulogized a high school football player who was shot to death said his final day should not define his 16 years of life.
The Rev. C. Jay Matthews, pastor at Mount Sinai Baptist Church, said it wasn't time to question what Lorenzo Hunter was doing last Friday.
"Our children have the right to live and make a mistake and still live," the Rev. Mr. Matthews said.
Police say Hunter was attempting to rob Rodney Roberts with a toy gun, and the 20-year-old is accused of shooting back with a real one. Police said Roberts shot Hunter in the chest, arm and hip.
Hours before Lorenzo's funeral Thursday, Roberts was in Cleveland Municipal Court, where Judge Ronald Adrine set his bond at $75,000. Prosecutors had asked for $1 million bond, saying Roberts might flee.
Roberts' attorney, Jaye Schlachet, called the shooting self-defense.
At the service, classmates and friends read from poems they penned about Lorenzo's life, or told how he had touched theirs.
Hunter was a 6-foot-4, 185-pound sophomore wide receiver and safety for Benedictine High School, which won the Division III state title in November.
More than 1,000 people filled the church for the funeral. Some were his teammates.