Woman links Clark to SUV in killing of Broncos' Williams
By Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published September 4, 2008 at 7:48 p.m.
George Kochaniec Jr. / The Rocky
Denver police find the suspect vehicle in the Darrent Williams shooting a few days after the killing. The white Tahoe was painted black.
Darrent Williams, 24, was shot in a limo on New Year's Day 2007.
Willie Clark is in custody, accused of drug trafficking.
A woman says she loaned the SUV used in the killing of Denver Broncos player Darrent Williams to one of the suspects hours before it was used in the killing.
In a declaration filed in federal court, Veronica Garcia said she traded trucks that night with Willie Clark, one of four suspects in the unsolved slaying.
The truck Garcia gave Clark was the white Chevy Tahoe from which the shots were fired that killed Williams, two sources close to the case said Thursday.
Clark, 26, has repeatedly said he was not involved in the crime, and no charges have been filed.
But Garcia's statement could put the suspected gang member in possession of the SUV, which was found spray-painted and abandoned in northeast Denver three days after the shooting.
Clark's attorney could not be reached for comment.
Garcia, 28, is the ex-girlfriend of suspected gang leader Brian Hicks.
Prosecutors allege that after Hicks was arrested on a drug charge in November 2006, Garcia helped run his drug business — a charge Garcia's family and attorney deny. Hicks also allowed Garcia to use his Chevy Tahoe, the sources said.
Garcia's declaration, filed as part of a motion for bail in her own drug case, doesn't explain why she traded vehicles with Clark. But she says she did it "on the night the Bronco player was killed."
Williams, 24, was shot to death early on the morning of Jan. 1, 2007, after celebrating New Year's Eve at a Denver nightclub.
Authorities say he was at the club with other Broncos and Denver Nuggets players when members of the group got into an argument with a group of suspected gang members.
The disagreement spilled outside, where Williams and others got into a Hummer limousine Williams had rented for the night. As the limo drove near Speer Boulevard and 11th Avenue, someone fired shots from the Chevy Tahoe, police said. Williams died at the scene.
Authorities suspect there were as many as four men in the Tahoe at the time. All of the suspects are in jail on drug charges, authorities have said.
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September 4, 2008
9:29 p.m.
Suggest removal
Squatch writes:
Get a rope! This piece of trash and his buddies dont belong amongst us human beings. Maybe somebody should stab this punk and his buddies in the neck a let them bleed to death.
September 4, 2008
9:40 p.m.
Suggest removal
roger44 writes:
Agree
September 4, 2008
10:11 p.m.
Suggest removal
ssquared writes:
I hope this piece of sh!t punk is hooked up on the murder charge.
All of these punks need to stay where they are until they fry.
September 4, 2008
10:57 p.m.
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n_jared writes:
Tree + Rope = Justice
September 5, 2008
7:41 a.m.
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Smurfy writes:
What happen to innocent until proven guilty?
September 5, 2008
7:49 a.m.
Suggest removal
Dusty_Piniella writes:
Smurfy, the are already guilty, the trial will be just a formality at this point!
R.I.P. D Will.......we miss you!
September 5, 2008
8:34 a.m.
Suggest removal
TheDoc writes:
Smurfy, it's bleedin' heart,leg wettin' liberals like you that keep justice from happening. These bottom feeding ,piss poor excuses of humanity will sit in jail for many years to come, with all the comforts they could want, health care, being fed well, entertained, all at our expense. I say hang 'em high, and quickley!!!
September 5, 2008
8:54 a.m.
Suggest removal
FlyfishDude52 writes:
It's a shame that we must observe political correctness in cases like this. Though due process is a constitutional right, these fu(ks don't deserve the comforts they now receive at our expense. Feed 'em to the predators at the Denver Zoo. At least that way they could contribute something to society.
September 5, 2008
9:56 a.m.
Suggest removal
r_u_serious writes:
n_jared and ssq are you people for real? You rednecks! Is this honestly how some people still think. Its 2008 for goodness sakes. Yes these guys need to pay for what they did. I loved D as much as any other Bronco fan. But to resort to your backwoods thinking of hanging is horrible.
September 5, 2008
10:31 a.m.
Suggest removal
COLibertarian writes:
Yea Jared and Ssquared, you guys were out of line and downright meanies. Mean mean men.
They should pay for their crimes. Rehabilitation is what I say. Not the prisons of old, but new progressive prisons where self asteem is priority. Idle hands....... but work detail only profits the prison system and this is unjust. To keep these gentlemen busy we need to provide arts and crafts. For entertainment, television and video games are a neccessity. If we allow them to play violent video games, they may see that harming another human being is bad. Really bad. But not to shame them too much. Self asteem in this institution is paramount.
For these 4 individuals however, they may be limited to college football games bud Definately NOT Madden NFL that features D. Williams. This may be too much for them to bear!
Rest In Peace D Williams. You will always be in our hearts!
September 5, 2008
10:51 a.m.
Suggest removal
sbhchawk writes:
it is 2008, and most know our legal system does not dispense equel and blind justice. I'm not saying we need to start hanging people without trails but a much swifter form of justice is needed. This guy killed someone famous so he's "High Profile" but he does represent a very low class of human. Killer, drug dealer and who knows what else. Jail is to good for him as hes proven he has no respect for human life.
September 5, 2008
11 a.m.
Suggest removal
COLibertarian writes:
sbhchawk
You post "I'm not saying we need to start hanging people without trails but a much swifter form of justice is needed"
I understand that it was a typo, and do not mean any disrespect, but I kinda like it better.....dispensing justice with no "trails"
Works for me!!!!
September 5, 2008
noon
Suggest removal
Squatch writes:
The problem here is these kinds of animals commit crimes against all types of of people and use there disregard of life to intimidate witnesses and other people in these neighborhoods into being quite. The DPD and other law enforcement agencies are cuffed and cant do a damn thing to these POS and they continue to walk the streets spreading fear. I grew up in East Denver most of my life and can remember the crap that used to happen around there in the late 80's and early 90's and how the older people in the neighborhood would stay quite because if the didnt there would be nonstop harrasment or drive by shootings on their house. This isnt the 1st run in these punks have had with the law and Williams wasnt the 1st guy these punks had ever killed either remember these guys are only in jail because they got caught this time. How many lives have they ruined because we didnt deal with the 1st time.
September 5, 2008
12:11 p.m.
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COLibertarian writes:
Hey Squatch, What part of E Denver did you live? I moved to Metro area in 93' and now live in E Denver myself. I would never have driven through my current neighborhood back then. It is getting better, but the community is changing and people are starting to fight back. Still shooting going on but hopefully will be pushed out soon.
September 5, 2008
12:40 p.m.
Suggest removal
oldgunney writes:
Its time all you liberal bleeding hearts take notice at whats going on on our city streets and do somethinf about it. People like this Willie Clark don,t deserve to live in our society.Long sentences and "rehabilitation" is not the answer. A short rope and a tall tree,now thats what this city needs. Run em out or put em down.
September 5, 2008
12:41 p.m.
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Squatch writes:
It was more of the Northeast Park Hill area. Now with the Stapleton Development growing we are hoping it will get better for my grandparents. They also opened a police station off of Holly a while back but the trash just seems to stay one step ahead. Its a lot better than it was back in 1990-1992 but a lot of people moved away and rented their homes out.
September 5, 2008
1:08 p.m.
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COLibertarian writes:
oldgunney,
Hopefully you were not taking my rehabilitation seriously.....
The only thing in that post that was serious was my wish for peace to D Williams. I should have made a separate post in that instance. For that mistake I apologize
September 5, 2008
1:54 p.m.
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mokey writes:
I know I'll be accused of racism, but this story says so much about a remarkable aspect of Black society. Before you freak out, I said remarkable aspect but not ALL of Black society.
I think there's this familial kind of bond that causes many Blacks to not want to cooperate with the legal / law enforcement parts of society. Unfortunately, this bond is the direct result of distrust of law enforcement because of its long history maltreatment of Blacks. For example, I was reading about Detroit and how the police rounded up Blacks randomly and enforced a disparate law enforcement policy in which more arrests and actions were taken against Blacks than against whites even in equal law violation situations.
There is also the rule within the Black community, very much enforced by gang retaliation, against "snitching". I even heard a local radio station joke about "snitches get ditches."
It is obvious from the length of time it has taken law enforcement to build this case that MANY Blacks in the Denver area knew useful information about this case and it has taken the obviously tireless efforts of police investigators to squeeze each drop of that information out of this community. Another clear hallmark of this community is revealed in these situations: what is in it for me?
I do hope that they will bring the people involved to justice and like the Sir Mario Owens case prove clearly that justice will eventually prevail.
September 5, 2008
2:07 p.m.
Suggest removal
mokey writes:
Another comment that I've made many times before.
These gang members publicly flaunt their gang identity. What do we in society cater to them? Why do the clubs let them in? Why do the tattoo parlors cater to them? Who sells them food, water and gasoline? Who allows them housing? Who sells the younger ones the paint used paint their tags? Who sells them the gear (caps, t-shirts, etc.)?
We as a society ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM. It has very much become about the bottom line. If there's a way to make a dollar, we will preach one thing but then indirectly support this lifestyle?