Suspected gang leader Brian Hicks, accused of dealing thousands of dollars of crack cocaine, is now indigent and cannot afford to pay an attorney to fight his drug case, a federal judge determined Wednesday.
Jonathan Willet was formally appointed to represent Hicks, currently held in federal custody, during a hearing before Judge Wiley Daniel in U.S. District Court.
Authorities have described Hicks as the leader of a Denver street gang. Three other members of the gang are named in court documents and by police sources as suspects in the Jan. 1 shooting death of Denver Bronco Darrent Williams. No one has been charged in Williams’ death.
Hicks was indicted in April along with several other defendants in what authorities said was the largest gang crackdown in state history.
In a motion filed last week, Willet asked the judge to dismiss five charges filed against Hicks because, the lawyer wrote, prosecutors have not provided enough evidence to show Hicks was involved in the “meat and potatoes” of a drug conspiracy.
The conspiracy, prosecutors say, spans July 2002 through April 2007.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
