An attempted-murder trial has been postponed and bond raised for a man accused of shooting 18 months ago at a woman who was murdered last week at her Denver home.
Brian Kenneth Hicks, 27, had been set for trial Monday in the June 12, 2005, attempted murder of Kalonniann Clark, 28, who was to have been a witness at his trial.
Instead, Clark was shot to death Wednesday when two men broke into her duplex demanding drugs and money.
Police and prosecutors have carefully refrained from calling Hicks, who was in jail at the time of Wednesday’s murder, a suspect in Clark’s killing. But during a hearing Monday, prosecutor David Karpel told Denver District Judge William Robbins that Hicks poses “an extreme danger to the community” and “an extraordinary flight risk.”
Karpel said that Hicks made the $200,000 bond in the attempted-murder case but was re-arrested on Nov. 9 for alleged drug dealing.
Officer Jason Simmons testified Monday that he was involved Nov. 9 in a lengthy pursuit of Hicks after narcotics detectives saw Hicks go into a home where they believed he got drugs and then leave in a car with two others.
Simmons said officers pulled the car over, and as he and his partner approached, it appeared another man in the car was reaching for a gun in his waistband. He said the officers retreated and the car took off at high speed before crashing.
Simmons testified that during the pursuit, Hicks threw out a duffel bag believed to contain 8.8 pounds of cocaine.
Hicks is facing trial on two counts of attempted first-degree homicide for allegedly firing numerous shots at Clark and another woman in 2005. Neither was hit, and Clark was slated to testify against Hicks.
Karpel said that two days before Clark was killed last week, Hicks’ wife, Kimaya James, 26, was arrested on suspicion of witness intimidation for allegedly threatening Clark if she testified against her husband.
Karpel asked that Hicks’ bond be raised to $2 million, but Robbins said he thought $500,000 was sufficient. Bond in the drug case is set at $550,000.
Harvey Steinberg, Hicks’ lawyer, said he believed the sole reason for the increased-bond request was Clark’s death and what he called the prosecution’s unsubstantiated assumption that Hicks was involved. The attempted-murder trial is now scheduled for April.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
