Willie Clark is a former Denver gang member convicted in 2010 of the murder of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams, who was shot in a drive-by on New Year’s Day 2007. A Denver jury found Clark guilty on all 21 counts tied to the shooting, and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 1,152 additional years. He was later convicted of a second, separate killing carried out weeks before Williams died.
What Happened on New Year’s Day 2007
Williams, 24, was killed in the early morning hours of January 1, 2007, after leaving a downtown Denver nightclub that had hosted a New Year’s Eve party for Denver Nuggets player Kenyon Martin’s birthday. The Broncos had been eliminated from playoff contention hours earlier in an overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers.1Action News 5. Denver Broncos Cornerback Darrent Williams Killed in Drive-by Shooting
Trial testimony described a verbal fight inside the club between Clark and members of Williams’ group, which included Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall. The dispute escalated after someone in the athletes’ entourage sprayed champagne, offending Clark and other members of the Tre Tre Crips.2vLex. People v. Clark Prosecutors argued Clark’s group resented the preferential treatment the athletes received at the venue.3NFL. Man Receives Life Sentence for Killing Broncos CB Darrent Williams
The confrontation moved outside as the club closed shortly after 2 a.m. Williams tried to pull his teammates away and climbed into a rented stretch Hummer limousine with roughly 16 other people, including Broncos receiver Javon Walker.49News. Remembering the Broncos’ Darrent Williams on New Year’s Witnesses said Clark found a gun, got into an SUV, and chased the limousine. He pulled alongside near 11th Avenue and Speer Boulevard and opened fire with a .40-caliber pistol. As many as a dozen bullet holes marked the driver’s side of the limousine, which came to rest in a snowbank. Williams was hit in the neck and died in Walker’s arms. Two other passengers were wounded.1Action News 5. Denver Broncos Cornerback Darrent Williams Killed in Drive-by Shooting
Why Charges Took Nearly Two Years
Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said the investigation dragged because many potential witnesses were themselves tied to a gang-related drug ring under federal investigation, and cooperation was hard to secure. Three witnesses were jailed for refusing to testify. The SUV believed to have been used in the shooting had been burned out and spray-painted black, destroying physical evidence.5Denver Post. Justice Served in Clark Case
Before trial, defense attorneys Darren Cantor and Abraham Hutt moved to dismiss the case, arguing prosecutors had withheld nightclub video of the confrontation. Prosecutors called the late disclosure a miscommunication between detectives and said the footage had “little relevance.”6Denver Post. Willie Clark Lawyers Want Case Dismissed The defense also tried to keep out evidence of Clark’s gang ties. Judge Christina Habas refused, ruling the case was “permeated with gang references” and that excluding them was “not only impossible, but it’s completely unsupportable.”2vLex. People v. Clark
The Trial
The prosecution’s case turned on Daniel “Ponytail” Harris, who admitted he was inside the SUV during the shooting and testified he saw Clark fire the shots. Harris, a drug dealer who had fled to Cancún after the killing, returned to Denver in June 2007 to surrender and began cooperating.7Denver Post. Witness in Darrent Williams Case Likely to Enter Witness Protection Other witnesses testified about the club fights, said Clark had asked them to stash the SUV or provide a false alibi, and told the jury Clark had confessed to the killing while incarcerated. A gang expert identified Clark’s tattoos as Crips-related.8Westword. Willie Clark: Read Our Previous Coverage of the Darrent Williams Murder Case
The defense attacked those witnesses hard on credibility. Cantor and Hutt showed that five prosecution witnesses had collectively received 188 years’ worth of reductions in their own prison sentences in exchange for their testimony. Harris himself had been facing a life sentence on drug charges and was offered a deal that would put him back on the street within a few years.9Vail Daily. Willie Clark Sentenced to Life in Williams Slaying The defense theory was that Harris was the actual shooter and was pinning it on Clark. On cross-examination Cantor told Harris, “You told a woman there that you were the one who shot Darrent Williams.”10Denver Post. Clark Trial: Owner’s Girlfriend Traces Path of Tahoe Defense witnesses also described the vehicle in the altercation as green or brown rather than the white SUV prosecutors linked to Clark, and a forensic analyst testified that DNA on cigar tips inside the white SUV belonged to someone else.8Westword. Willie Clark: Read Our Previous Coverage of the Darrent Williams Murder Case
On March 11, 2010, the jury convicted Clark on all 21 counts, including first-degree murder, 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder for the other passengers, and aggravated assault. He was also declared a habitual criminal under Colorado law, which allowed consecutive sentences.11NFL. Suspected Gang Member Convicted in Slaying of Broncos Williams
Sentencing
On April 30, 2010, Judge Habas sentenced Clark, then 26, to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 1,152 years for the attempted murders.3NFL. Man Receives Life Sentence for Killing Broncos CB Darrent Williams
Williams’ mother, Rosalind Williams, spoke at sentencing. “Now, whenever someone tells me happy New Year, it hurts,” she said. “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 called the killing a “cowardly act.”9Vail Daily. Willie Clark Sentenced to Life in Williams Slaying Chief Deputy District Attorney Tim Twining told the court Clark lived in a gang culture where “a simple insult was enough to send him into a murderous rage.”3NFL. Man Receives Life Sentence for Killing Broncos CB Darrent Williams
The Second Murder
Clark was later convicted of a separate killing that occurred less than a month before the Williams shooting. On December 6, 2006, two masked gunmen broke into the home of Kalonniann Clark, a 28-year-old state witness scheduled to testify against Brian Kenneth Hicks, a leader of Willie Clark’s gang. She fled outside and was shot in the head while on the phone with a 911 operator. Prosecutors said there was no family relationship between Kalonniann Clark and Willie Clark despite the shared last name.12Summit Daily. Suspect in Williams Death Indicted in 2nd Slaying
Morrissey called it a “murder for hire.” Prosecutors said Hicks used coded phone calls from jail to direct Willie Clark and a third associate, Shun Birch, to carry out the killing, with Birch identified as the shooter. The SUV police tied to the Williams drive-by weeks later was owned by Hicks, linking the two cases.12Summit Daily. Suspect in Williams Death Indicted in 2nd Slaying A Denver jury convicted Willie Clark of that murder on October 31, 2011, on evidence built around the recorded jail calls, and he received life plus 420 years.13CBS News Colorado. Willie Clark Sentenced to 420 Years for Murder of Witness Hicks and Birch were tried separately and also received life without parole plus additional decades.14Westword. Shun Birch Found Guilty of Murdering a Witness
Clark’s combined sentence for the two murders is two life terms without parole plus 1,572 years.13CBS News Colorado. Willie Clark Sentenced to 420 Years for Murder of Witness
Appeal
Clark appealed the Williams conviction through attorney Eric Samler, raising juror misconduct, prosecutorial misconduct, and the prejudicial effect of the gang expert’s testimony. In April 2015 the Colorado Court of Appeals rejected the gang-evidence and prosecutorial-misconduct claims but sent the case back to Denver District Court for a hearing on the juror-misconduct allegations.15Westword. Willie Clark, Convicted of Killing Bronco Darrent Williams, Could Get New Trial
The alleged misconduct included jurors running an unauthorized experiment outside the courtroom to test a witness’s testimony about the color of a vehicle, discussions before formal deliberations began, and improper contact between deliberating jurors and dismissed alternates. The appeals court held that if the district judge found misconduct and prejudice to Clark, a new trial had to be ordered.16Mile High Report. Darrent Williams Retrial: Willie Clark The outcome of that evidentiary hearing is not publicly documented in the available reporting. Clark remains incarcerated.