A Denver District Court jury may begin deliberating the case against Willie D. Clark today after hearing almost 11 days of testimony from more than 40 witnesses.
Judge Christina Habas intends to instruct the jurors about the law at 1 p.m., and then both sides will present closing arguments.
Clark, 26, is accused of killing Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams and wounding two others early New Year’s Day 2007 following an altercation outside the Shelter nightclub.
Prosecutors say Williams and his entourage were traveling in a white stretch Hummer limousine when they were ambushed by at least two gunmen in a passing white Chevrolet Tahoe.
Clark faces life in prison if he is convicted.
The defense raised the possibility that another sport utility vehicle was used in the shooting, and that a key prosecution witness, Daniel “Ponytail” Harris, was the aggressor outside the nightclub and one of the shooters.
Lawyers Abraham Hutt and Darren Cantor have told the jury that Clark is a scapegoat being set up by former friends of his who wanted deals to serve less time on their federal drug cases in exchange for their testimony.
The defense presented witnesses who said Clark was acting normally on New Year’s Day and produced phone records from Andrea Sarow, a woman Clark was romantically interested in, to show she called him at 2:17 a.m., just 21 seconds after the Hummer limo driver called 911 to report the shooting.
Sarow’s call lasted 17 seconds and she had no specific recollection of the conversation with Clark.
Clark and Sarow talked three more times, records show. They wished each other a happy new year and agreed to talk soon.
On Monday, the defense called an analyst from the Denver crime lab who testified that Clark was the major source of DNA found on a Denver Nuggets hat inside the white Chevrolet Tahoe police believe was used in the shooting.
The defense did not indicate how the evidence helps their client, but it could play into their theory of Clark being set up by his former associates.
As the case ended, Clark declined to testify in his own defense, citing threats to his life and his family’s life if he took the witness stand.
Prosecutors rebutted the defense’s case by calling Julian, a Latino gang member who was close friends with Clark.
The Denver Post chose not to publish Julian’s last name after prosecutors said he had received threats on his life if he testified.
He testified that Clark, who was driving a white Tahoe a few days before the homicide, was supposed to go to New York City to watch the ball drop but changed his plans and went to the Shelter nightclub instead.
Julian said Clark left “panicky” messages and texts on his cellphone on New Year’s Day asking Julian to help him get in touch with attorney Michael Andre, who was related to Julian.
“He said, ‘I did some f—– up s— last night. I need to get a hold of your bro,’ ” Julian said about the message to get help from Andre.
When Julian met Clark around 9 a.m. New Year’s Day, Clark told him there had been an altercation with Broncos at the nightclub.
“We dumped on those fools last night,” Clark reportedly told Julian. “He said that they had gotten into some words, and they were disrespecting Denver Crips and they had to handle their business,” Julian testified.
Julian said Clark met with Andre, then received a phone call from Harris, and the two talked about getting rid of a gun.
Julian, who got immunity from prosecutors in exchange for his testimony, told the jury that he advised Clark to burn the Tahoe.
On cross-examination, Cantor accused Julian, a four-time felon, of lying to get an escape charge dismissed from his record.
In September 2008, Denver prosecutors dismissed the escape case against Julian, who had walked away from a halfway house where he was serving a sentence for theft.
Julian could have spent up to 48 years in prison as a habitual criminal if prosecutors had pursued the escape case because of his criminal history.
Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com
