Man gets life for killing Broncos player
A gang member convicted of killing Denver Broncos cornerback
Darrent Williams in a drive-by shooting was sentenced Friday to
life in prison plus 1,152 years after family members recounted the
devastating impact of the killing.
Willie Clark, 26, was convicted of first-degree murder in the
New Year's Day 2007 slaying of Williams after a confrontation at a
nightclub.
Rosalind Williams called her son's slaying a cowardly act and
said gang violence must be stopped.
"Now, whenever someone tells me happy New Year, it hurts,''
she said in court. "Now, when anybody says happy Mother's Day, it
hurts because my baby will never be able to tell me happy Mother's
Day again.''
She urged Clark to show remorse for the violence: ``Make your
mom and your dad proud. I know my son made me proud,'' she said.
Clark, however, smiled at times as he leaned and whispered
into his attorney's ear while Williams and other relatives spoke.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Tim Twining said Clark lived
in a gang culture where a simple insult was enough to send him into
a murderous rage.
Clark, along with two other suspects. also faces a
first-degree murder charge in the slaying of a witness less than a
month before Williams was killed.
During a hearing earlier Friday, Clark was declared a
habitual criminal, making him eligible for the 1,152 years in
prison. He had two prior felony convictions and also was convicted
of 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated
assault in the Williams case.
The sentencing followed a failed emergency appeal to the
Colorado Supreme Court.
Defense attorney Darren Cantor also asked District Court
Judge Christina Habas to excuse his client from listening to
Rosalind Williams address the court about the murder of her
24-year-old son.
Habas refused.
Prosecutors portrayed Darrent Williams as a peacemaker as his
friends argued with gang members who had taken exception to the
special treatment afforded the celebrated athletes outside a
nightclub.
"All I can think of is that he was killed simply because of
the jealousy and selfishness of Willie Clark,'' said Tierria
Leonard, the mother of Williams' 10-year-old son and 7-year-old
daughter.
She told Judge Habas her son had asked if Williams had his
cell phone with him in the casket when he was buried then had cried
uncontrollably when he realized he couldn't speak to his father
again.
Leonard also said their daughter had refused to run track for
a time because she was afraid of the starter's pistol.
Cantor and defense attorney Abraham Hutt have 45 days to file
an appeal. Both left the court without comment.
Witnesses testified at trial that Clark had exchanged words
with then-Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall as Williams
arrived at the nightclub with a group. The confrontation escalated
inside when somebody in Williams' group sprayed champagne in
celebration.
The dispute continued outside as Williams and his group tried
to leave. Witnesses said Clark desperately searched for a gun
following the altercation, hopped into an SUV to catch up with a
limousine carrying Williams, then fired the fatal shots.
It took prosecutors and police nearly two years to build
their case against Clark, partly because those who witnessed the
shooting were part of a gang drug ring under federal investigation,
Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey has said.
Several witnesses eventually testified they saw or heard from
Clark that he fired shots from the SUV into a stretch Hummer
limousine carrying Williams and 16 others from the nightclub
shortly after 2 a.m. Williams died in teammate Javon Walker's arms.
Defense attorney Hutt tried to undercut the credibility of
five prosecution witnesses during the trial, saying they had their
sentences reduced by a combined 188 years for testifying.
Hutt said the prosecution's star witness, Daniel "Ponytail''
Harris, faced a life sentence for a drug charge but will be
released within two years. Harris testified he was in the SUV and
saw Clark fire the shots.