Cops work 'around the clock'

Nightclub tape fails to shed any light on Williams shooting

Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Denver police were struggling Tuesday in their search for the killer of Broncos starter Darrent Williams, the cornerback described by his uncle as his family's "core" and by a teary Mike Shanahan as "somebody very special."

Investigators say the New Year's Day shooting may be related to an argument that occurred late Sunday or early Monday at The Shelter nightclub near 10th Avenue and Broadway.

Williams was leaving a party he and other Broncos and Nuggets hosted at the club when someone pulled up alongside the rented Hummer limo he was riding in and opened fire.

Investigators don't know what caused the verbal dispute, and police spokesman Sonny Jackson said they had no suspects late Tuesday.

Detectives are reviewing surveillance tapes, but as of Tuesday afternoon, they had no footage showing the shooting or the earlier altercation, a police source familiar with the investigation said.

The club was equipped with cameras, but not all of them were recording the whole evening, the source said.

Though police have narrowed their search for a suspect vehicle, saying they are looking for a white Suburban or Tahoe with tinted windows, none of the witnesses was able to give detectives a license- plate number.

That leaves investigators working witnesses, checking ballistics, fielding phone calls and hoping the shooter or the shooter's friends will brag to others.

They are asking for the public's help and offering a $2,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

"We're working around the clock on this investigation," Jackson said. "It's a situation where anyone who knows what happened or has any information, we'd love to hear."

'Not the target'

Williams' uncle, Demond Williams, said his nephew was at the club to promote a rap group for Ryno Entertainment, the independent recording label he owns. The label recently released Da Graduation, an album by the Million Dolla Scholars, a band from Williams' hometown of Fort Worth, Texas.

The event also was a birthday party for Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin, who said he left the club before midnight.

The uncle said he believes some people got into an argument with the music group and took offense at how they were "carrying themselves," but he did not elaborate.

Though Williams grew up among gangs in Fort Worth, his uncle said he was not involved with them.

"I know in my heart he was not the target," Demond Williams said. "He was trying to squash it."

Some reports of the argument have Williams and Broncos receiver Javon Walker, who was in the limo at the time of the shooting but was not hurt, exchanging words with other men at The Shelter. Another account was that it was Williams and Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall.

Shea Hasan was at the New Year's Eve party hosted by Williams and other players with the Broncos and Denver Nuggets. She told CBS4 News that she saw a group of Williams' friends and a second group of men gathered outside around the white, stretch Hummer limousine.

"Some guys were standing in the street and there were some guys standing on the sidewalk, and they were exchanging words," Hasan, 22, said. "I could hear people cursing, obviously upset, I could tell the nature of what they were saying, but couldn't tell exactly what they were saying.

"They were ticked off at one another," she told CBS4 News. "It wasn't a friendly exchange . . . it was definitely heated."

Hasan said that while Williams' friends were involved in the verbal altercation, the Broncos cornerback wasn't.

Police will say only that the confrontation did not get physical, that no one inside the limo fired shots at the white SUV, and that the first 911 call came from inside the limo at 2:17 a.m.

They declined Tuesday to release a transcript of the 911 call.

Father of two

Demond Williams gathered with other family and friends, including Darrent Williams' mother, Rosalind Williams, at his nephew's Parker townhome Tuesday afternoon to grieve and finalize funeral arrangements.

"Just pray for us," he said. "We just don't understand."

The entire family typically gathered on Sundays to watch the 24-year-old father of two play, Demond Williams said as he clutched a photograph of his nephew.

"He was just a regular kid," Williams said. "That smile and energy he always brought."

Darrent Williams had recently bought new ATVs and a go-cart for his son. They were supposed to drive the vehicles together this weekend.

In Fort Worth, the mother of Williams' two children told the local CBS affiliate that she sent Williams a text message wishing him a happy New Year on Sunday night.

"He never text-messaged me back," Tierra Leonard said.

His grandmother, Easter Williams, showed off a No. 27 jersey, signed by the cornerback, to the "world's best grandma."

"I'll miss him," she said.

Victim returns home

Police have not confirmed how many people were in the limo with Williams at the time of the shooting, but said two others were injured.

Rosalind Williams said one was her son's friend from Fort Worth, who was released from the hospital Monday.

The other was 21-year-old University of Colorado senior Nicole "Nic" Reindl, who was wounded after she and a friend accepted a short ride.

The Rocky Mountain News withheld Reindl's name Monday because she is a witness and the killer remains at large. The News is naming her today, with the permission of her family, because it has been widely reported in other media.

Reindl was released Tuesday morning with a bullet still lodged in her head.

Her father, Ron Reindl, said doctors may want to look at the wound again in a month but, remarkably, the bullet is not doing his daughter any harm.

"The doctors are going to leave it be right now," he said. "She's been through enough already."

At the corner of Speer Boulevard and Delaware Street, near the scene of the shooting, a steady stream of fans also expressed their sadness, leaving messages, hats, candles, flowers and other items at a makeshift memorial.

"This is my old lucky shirt, retired for you," someone wrote in marker on a threadbare orange Broncos T-shirt that hung from the chain-link fence.

"Hope there's football in heaven," another note read.

Others urged an end to violence.

At Dove Valley, Shanahan said during an emotional news conference that the team will fly to Texas for Williams' funeral Saturday, following a private service here today.

"It's always tough anytime you deal with somebody that's part of your family," he said. "(He was) just a class young man that I cared an awful lot for."

Remembering Williams

• Today: The Broncos plan to hold a private memorial service at the team's Dove Valley headquarters. The ceremony is for players, coaches, staff members and Williams' immediate family only.

• Friday: Visitation from 5 to 7 p.m. MST at Great Commission Baptist Church, 7700 McCart Ave., in Fort Worth, Texas. The public is welcome.

• Saturday: Funeral at 11 a.m. MST at Great Commission Baptist Church. The public is welcome. The church can seat about 2,300 people.

• Fund for children: A fund for Williams' two children has been set up by the team. Contributions can be sent to Darrent Williams Children's Fund, c/o Denver Broncos, 13655 Broncos Parkway, Englewood, CO 80112.

Call in tips

• Reward offered: Police are urging anyone with information about the fatal shooting of Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams to come forward. Tipsters can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. A $2,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a suspect or suspects.

burnetts@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5343