Accused drug kingpin Brian Kenneth Hicks told a federal judge Thursday that he has reached an impasse with his lawyers because they want him to negotiate a plea with prosecutors and he wants to fight his case.
U.S. District Judge Wiley Y. Daniel granted Hicks’ motion to have attorneys Jonathan Willet and Walter Gerash removed from his case.
Hicks, accused of heading the Elite Eight, a gang whose members are charged with trafficking thousands of kilos of crack cocaine, said his family is trying to retain a lawyer.
While Hicks was in jail on drug charges, Denver police sources say two of his associates — Willie Clark and Daniel Harris — were inside his white Chevrolet Tahoe that was used in the drive-by shooting of Denver Broncos player Darrent Williams.
Clark and Harris have not been charged in the Williams case but are facing drug conspiracy charges, along with Hicks.
Hicks told the judge that Willet and Gerash were wasting time on frivolous motions, such as arguing over pretrial publicity in his case. Hicks said federal prosecutors only have a “small amount of evidence” against him and he wants an attorney to challenge the case.
“I feel like they don’t have my best interest in mind,” Hicks told Daniel. “The only thing they want me to do is plea bargain and not defend me the way I want them to.”
During the hearing, Willet told the judge that he could not respond to what Hicks was saying about their communication breakdown because of attorney-client privilege.
Last week, a federal grand jury handed down more indictments against Hicks, Clark and Harris.
The indictment charges that Hicks was the leader of a continuing criminal enterprise and that he, Clark and Harris conspired to possess and distribute crack cocaine.
