Every effort will be made to keep Darrent Williams’ name out of the upcoming witness-murder trial of accused gang leader Brian Hicks.
“It hurts us more than it helps us,” Hicks’ defense attorney Wil Smith said during a pretrial hearing Friday.
But keeping the name of the slain Denver Broncos cornerback away from jurors might be difficult given the same witnesses who helped convict Willie D. Clark of his murder will be testifying against Hicks.
“Some witnesses have made accusations against Mr. Hicks in the context of naming Mr. Clark in the slaying of Darrent Williams,” Smith said.
Cross-examining those witnesses about their credibility may require bringing up the murder on New Year’s Day 2007.
Denver District Court Judge Christina Habas told the lawyers Friday that if the Williams case comes up, they must approach the bench beforehand to determine the best way to address the issue.
A special jury panel will be brought into court Jan. 20 and receive questionnaires to determine whether they know about the case. Habas expects both sides to give their opening statements to the jury Jan. 25.
Hicks, 31, is charged with conspiring with Clark and Shun Birch to kill Kalonniann Clark (no relation), a woman who was going to testify that Hicks shot at her outside a Denver nightclub.
In December 2006, Kalonniann Clark died after she was shot in the back as she ran away from two men who burst into her home with guns.
Prosecutors say Willie D. Clark and Shun Birch carried out Hicks’ orders to kill Clark so she couldn’t testify against him and that Birch received high-grade marijuana as partial payment for the murder.
Birch and Clark will be tried for the murder separately.
Clark is serving life plus 1,152 years for killing Williams and the attempted murder of 16 others riding in the NFL player’s limousine.
Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com
