DENVER—A letter purportedly written by a “person of interest” in the fatal shooting of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams says he fired shots into Williams’ limousine when the player was killed on New Year’s Day 2007.
The Rocky Mountain News said Friday it obtained the letter, which carries the signature of Willie D. Clark. Denver police have said Clark worked for an alleged gang leader who owned the SUV believed to have been used in the shooting.
The newspaper published a redacted excerpt of the letter reading, “(Blank) might say somethin stupd talk to law enforcements about the death of D-Will (Williams). (Blank) seen me withe gun + shoot out the whip (car).”
Williams, a 24-year-old former Oklahoma State standout, was killed when his rented limousine was sprayed with bullets minutes after leaving a New Year’s party at a downtown Denver club.
Police and witnesses say Williams was at the club with other members of the Broncos and the Denver Nuggets when some people in their group exchanged words with two other men who flashed gang signs at them.
No one has been arrested or charged in Williams’ slaying.
Clark was arrested on a parole violation days after Williams’ death and is now in jail awaiting trial on drug charges.
Clark’s attorney, Alaurice Tafoya-Modi, did not immediately return a call Friday, and the News said she didn’t return a call from the newspaper after she was faxed a copy of the letter. District Attorney Mitch Morrissey declined to comment.
The News said it obtained the letter from a Denver man who claimed he intercepted it while serving time in a prison where Clark was being held. The newspaper said the man, who has since been released from prison, also turned the letter over to law enforcement.
The News said it was not identifying the man because he could be in danger for providing the letter.
The man told the newspaper he has met twice with state and federal prosecutors, and that the district attorney’s office offered him money to relocate and to pay one month’s rent if he cooperates.
The man said those guarantees weren’t enough for him to cooperate because of the danger to his family and himself.
The man said he needs more money to live on while he finds a job in a new place. If prosecutors were more generous, he said, other witnesses might come forward.
He said he also hopes for a share of a $100,000 reward offered by the Broncos, the News reported.
An independent handwriting analyst hired by the News said the signature on the letter matched previous letters written by Clark to the newspaper and to a federal judge.
In one letter to the newspaper, Clark denied he was involved in Williams’ death.
Police have said little publicly about why they consider Clark a person of interest. Investigators say the fatal shots were fired from an SUV registered to Brian Hicks, a man they say was a gang leader who ran a drug ring that Clark worked for.
In one letter to the News, Clark denied being involved in drugs or being a gang member.
Hicks was behind bars at the time of the shooting. The SUV was found abandoned a few days later.
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan declined to comment on the specifics of the News story Friday but said: “It’s sure a nice first step to see something like that. And hopefully justice will prevail.”
Shanahan praised the police investigation and said detectives wouldn’t make a move until they believe they have a solid case.
“They just aren’t going to arrest someone to arrest someone,” he said. “They are working on it very diligently and hopefully this is a first step.”
On Thursday, the Broncos opened the Darrent Williams Memorial Teen Center in Denver, a collaboration between the team and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver.
