A Denver jury will hear closing arguments in the witness-killing case against Brian Kenneth Hicks this morning.
Prosecutors and the defense rested their cases Wednesday, and Hicks declined to testify or call any witnesses on his behalf.
“I am not sure that counsel will be able to effectively get my story across through my testimony,” Hicks told Judge Christina M. Habas. “I will not be testifying.”
Hicks is accused of ordering the killing of Kalonniann Clark, a woman who was going to testify against him in court that he had shot at her outside a Denver nightclub.
On Dec. 6, 2006, two masked gunmen broke down the door of her home, chased her and shot her in the head. The killing happened just days before her scheduled testimony. Willie D. Clark and Shun Birch are charged as the gunmen and will be tried separately after Hicks.
The bulk of the prosecution’s case rests with recorded phone calls made by Hicks — an alleged gang leader — to his associates from the Denver County Jail.
The prosecution says the calls show Hicks arranging the killing and trying to find ways to pay the killer.
Hicks’ defense team has argued that the calls were not about a homicide; instead they were about running Hicks’ clothing business from jail, paying his lawyers and drug dealing.
Two drug dealers who used to be Hicks’ friends and business partners testified against him in court, decoding the meaning of the slang-filled phone calls for the jury.
But those witnesses were offered significant plea deals in exchange for their testimony.
Daniel Harris, a former cocaine supplier for Hicks, was facing at least one life sentence but may get just five years on a crack-cocaine trafficking charge if prosecutors believe he fully cooperated with their case.
Harris also was a cooperating witness during the trial of Willie D. Clark, who was convicted of killing Denver Broncos player Darrent Williams.
Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com
