Broncos Players offer $100,000 reward for info about Williams

[2112]

ESPN.com news services

DENVER -- The Broncos said members of the NFL organization are offering a $100,000 reward through Denver Crime Stoppers for information that leads to the arrest and filing of charges against a suspect or suspects in the shooting death of cornerback Darrent Williams.

The team's reward is in addition to the standard $2,000 reward offered by Denver Crime Stoppers.

Meanwhile, a man held for questioning in the fatal drive-by shooting of Williams is frustrated by his arrest and his family is fearful, his attorney said Wednesday.

Willie Clark, 23, was arrested Friday after police said his name came up in the investigation. He was being held for an alleged parole violation unrelated to the slaying of Williams.

Clark's attorney, Michael Andre, declined to say whether Clark has been questioned by police. "We are not discussing anything related to his potential cooperation as we do not want to create a perception that could endanger his life or his presumption of innocence," Andre said.

Police, who said Clark's name came up in the investigation, have not called Clark a suspect but said they hoped he could provide information that could help solve the case. Andre has said previously that Clark has no information about the shooting.

Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said Wednesday there had been no further arrests in the case.

Williams was shot as he was riding away from a New Year's Eve party at a nightclub in a stretch Hummer limousine. Police haven't said whether they know the motive for the slaying, but have said there was an altercation at the club.

Andre has said Clark knows nothing about Williams' shooting. He declined to say Wednesday whether Clark has been questioned by police.

"We are not discussing anything related to his potential cooperation as we do not want to create a perception that could endanger his life or his presumption of innocence," Andre said.

Andre has said Clark grew up in the same neighborhood as 28-year-old Brian Hicks, the registered owner of a 1998 Chevrolet Tahoe that matches witnesses' description of a vehicle used in the shooting.

Hicks was in jail on drug charges when Williams was shot. Hicks is also accused of shooting at a woman who was later killed a week before she was to testify against him.

Clark, who was on parole for an auto theft conviction, is accused of living in a different house than the one listed in his parole agreement. Andre denied the allegation but said it could take months to clear up.

After Clark was arrested Friday, police discovered an arrest warrant accusing him of driving with revoked license, Andre said. Andre said the suspect in that case was actually Stephen Howard, a cousin of Clark's who once used Clark's name.

Howard, 24, appeared in Denver County Court Wednesday and was ordered held until a judge could schedule a hearing to positively identify both men.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2726943

[morphius]

Good to see his fellow players stepping up.

[RedDread]

Now lets see if any of his "boyz" are interested in turning him in for bling-bling and rims.

Put in another 50k-100k and someone will be rollin in a brand new Escalade.

edit: missed a word in there somewheres.

[Brock]

Whoever did this is probably shitting their pants right about now.

[StcChief]

new Tough guy gang initiation?

[Chiefs_Fan]

Players should be offering 10,000 - 20,000 each!

[Easy 6]

For all of the bank in that lockerroom it seems like a paltry amount.

[OnTheWarpath15]

For all of the bank in that lockerroom it seems like a paltry amount.

That's what I was thinking.

Comes to under $2000 per guy, not counting Shananhan or Bowlen.

Some of those guys should be offering 50-100k EACH.

A witness isn't going to risk coming forward for a lousy 100k. But, it is better than the 2k originally offered.

[noa]

Good move by the Broncos players. I hope it pays off.

[trndobrd]

The shooter should win a chance to "meet the Denver Bronco's Players"

[HonestChieffan]

I have a funny feeling that they wont ever catch the bad guy. Its a different culture in these gang things and these guys will hang tough on ever giving up one of their own. There is a lot of questions still about Williams and his connections with the gangs or no connection or his ties to the dude that played Basketball and his ties...its all a huge mess that wont ever get answered.

[Eleazar]

I know that 100k is a lot of money, but when you have a team of more than 50 guys who make on average more than $1 million a year, why couldn't there be some more cash out there?

[Taco John]

I don't understand the criticism in this thread. Are people doubting that $100,000 is enough to compel someone to step forward with some information?

[Brock]

I don't understand the criticism in this thread. Are people doubting that $100,000 is enough to compel someone to step forward with some information?

I know that if I were a scummy gang member, surrounded by other scummy gang members, I sure wouldn't want a 100k bounty on my head.

[OnTheWarpath15]

I don't understand the criticism in this thread. Are people doubting that $100,000 is enough to compel someone to step forward with some information?

Would you step forward and risk having someone retalitate on you or your family for 100k? I wouldn't. And I doubt you would either, TJ.

[Taco John]

I know that if I were a scummy gang member, surrounded by other scummy gang members, I sure wouldn't want a 100k bounty on my head.



Exactly. Likewise, if I'm a Broncos player, I don't want to put any more of my hard earned money in some scummy gang member's pocket than I have to in order to get justice.

[ChiTown]

I don't understand the criticism in this thread. Are people doubting that $100,000 is enough to compel someone to step forward with some information?

I'm going to do something really bizarre and totally out of character for me - I'm going to agree with you.

I think it's funny that people are being critical of what is being offered based on what the Broncos collectively make $$ as a team. $100K bucks is a helluva reward for a crime like this. They aren't looking for Osama Bin Laden.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Exactly. Likewise, if I'm a Broncos player, I don't want to put any more of my hard earned money in some scummy gang member's pocket than I have to in order to get justice.


From that POV, I agree.

But what if there's an ordinary civilian who saw something, maybe the shooting in progress that feels 100k isn't worth the risk?


I'm not trying to slam the players, TJ. I just know it's gotta be tough for a citizen to come forward knowing who is/was involved......

[WilliamTheIrish]

I don't understand the criticism in this thread. Are people doubting that $100,000 is enough to compel someone to step forward with some information?

Yes.

[Jmart]

Carmelo@stopsnitchin.com

[FAX]

I know that if I were a scummy gang member, surrounded by other scummy gang members, I sure wouldn't want a 100k bounty on my head.

Exactly. Likewise, if I'm a Broncos player, I don't want to put any more of my hard earned money in some scummy gang member's pocket ....

This is one of those reverse oxymorons konked on the head by a conundrum wrapped up in an irony bag, isn't it? Because, Broncos players are scummy gang members.

FAX

[Fairplay]

I'll confess if they jack it up to a million.

[Phobia]

I'd roll on any one of you for 100 large.

[ChiTown]

I'd roll on any one of you for 100 large.

Shouldn't that be, $500?

[FAX]

Shouldn't that be, $500?

ROFL

Dang.

FAX

[ChiTown]

ROFL

Dang.

FAX

I'm a firm believer that history WILL repeat itself......

[vailpass]

It's a complicated issue. Apparently there are some who already know who did the shooting. The problem is getting anyone to present evidence against them.

Rocky Mountain News
Krieger: Broncos' reward a start at solving real problem
January 10, 2007

Let's start with the good news.

Amid the deafening silence from prominent athletes and political leaders on the Denver gang violence that took Darrent Williams' life 11 days ago, the Broncos on Wednesday became the first prominent actor in the drama to step to the plate.

Three top officials from the team's business and administrative side met with the Rev. Leon Kelly, who runs a starving local anti-gang program, for about 90 minutes Wednesday morning. Kelly, as he often does, made an impassioned plea for help fighting a gang problem that is expanding from traditional outposts in Northeast Denver and Aurora into downtown clubs. Williams was murdered leaving a downtown club.

A few hours after that meeting, the Broncos announced a $100,000 reward for "information that leads to the arrest and filing of murder charges against a suspect or suspects" involved in Williams' killing.

Because, you know, that $2,000 Crimestoppers reward just might not convince someone to risk his or her life by talking to police about known gang members.

"We know who did this," Kelly told me. "They're looking for him. But even if they bring him in, as they say, 'We have suspects but no witnesses.' People are not willing to step up and say, 'This is what I saw, this is why I know that these guys did it.' "

In fact, you can see Kelly's counsel in the wording of the Broncos' reward. The traditional "arrest and conviction" language suggests court testimony.

That's what Kallonniann Louisa Clark-James was getting ready to provide against alleged Crips leader Brian Hicks when she was gunned down in December. That's a powerful disincentive for potential witnesses.

So the Broncos' reward requires only arrest and the filing of murder charges. Even at that, $100,000 might not be enough - how much is your life worth? - but it has a better chance than $2,000, which, as Kelly pointed out, "wouldn't even take care of your funeral."

Whenever I talk to Kelly about Williams, he mentions his "other DW" - 18-year-old Derrek Ward, gunned down in Aurora in December. That crime got almost no attention, but it, too, remains unsolved, and for the same reasons. As Kelly was trying to persuade potential witnesses to come forward in that case, Clark-James was murdered.

But Wednesday's meeting was about more than solving the Williams murder. It was about a Denver gang problem that political and business leaders won't acknowledge because . . . well . . . it probably wouldn't help bring the Democratic convention to town. It probably wouldn't convince you to go to a downtown club.

In short, it probably wouldn't be good for business.

"A lot of these gangsters are claiming certain clubs as theirs - 'This is where we get to go hang out,' " Kelly said. "We've been having a number of assaults, a number of shootings at our clubs down here. And for some people, it's a business. They don't want folks to know that this type of activity is taking place in these clubs."

So the Broncos deserve credit for acknowledging the problem, although they made no commitments to Kelly.

"We are, as an organization, still grieving about this," said a Broncos official who asked not to be identified.

"A lot of people are having a really hard time with it. So we're dealing with that issue.

"We're dealing with, and have been dealing with, taking care of Mrs. Williams and the needs that she had to bury her child. We have been dealing with setting up a fund to make sure that Darrent's kids are taken care of.

"Now we're dealing with how we're going to address taking care of our own players and people in our organization to get them to understand what this is all about, some of the things they need to look out for to avoid getting into these situations.

"Those are the issues that we have to put at the forefront. In terms of what else we can do in the community, we met with the Reverend this morning for the first time on this particular issue. He's reaching out, we recognize we've got to do something to help, so that we can benefit at-risk kids and provide positive, safe environments that allow them to make positive choices. We just don't know what that is right now."

In fairness, the Broncos already underwrite the Boys & Girls Club branch in Montbello that bears their name. That's not in Kelly's gang territory, but it's important work.

They put about as much into that every year as Kelly's entire budget to run his Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives program.

"It was very productive dialogue, and (Kelly) spoke from the heart," the Broncos official said. "He's a straight shooter. There are a lot of guys doing stuff like that who have their own agenda. That's not his deal.

"I think we've got to figure out a way. But I don't think we can solve this ourselves. I don't think we can be asked to solve this ourselves. And he doesn't, either."

Said Kelly afterward: "We talked, and it looks real good. But, you know, we'll see."

This is the voice of experience talking. Once the television lights move on to the next story, Kelly finds out who's serious.

But the Broncos, at least, have been heard from, and Kelly gives them props for that.

How about anybody else? Anybody heard from the mayor on this?

"The mayor's called a couple of times to offer his condolences," said the Broncos official. "I don't know what behind-the-scenes discussions they're having. But I will say this: The Denver police are doing all they can. They've been in constant contact with us. We've been very grateful for and admiring of all they've been doing.

"We need a lot more than the Denver Broncos to help out The Rev. and this problem."

Do we ever.



kriegerd@RockyMountainNews.com

MORE KRIEGER COLUMNS »

Copyright 2007, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.

[OnTheWarpath15]

My point exactly, VP.

[Phobia]

Shouldn't that be, $500?

Yeah, but I'm gonna be riding him until he comes up with the rest. He's not gonna like that very much.

[HonestChieffan]

Im not sure they want the whole truth to come out on this deal.

[Eleazar]

Yes.

Yes, I think that even if I were to get 100k, the idea of several gang members already responsible for one murder and IIRC, having killed someone else so they couldn't testify, might enter my mind.

I'm not saying these people even have a right not to come forward. I don't think they do, I think it's their duty to testify and bring justice if they have the power to do it.

But as far as not wanting to put money in the pocket of same gang member? Is your not wanting to put money in a gang member's pocket more important than wanting to bring a murderer to justice? I know which one I think is more important.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Yes, I think that even if I were to get 100k, the idea of several gang members already responsible for one murder and IIRC, having killed someone else so they couldn't testify, might enter my mind.

I'm not saying these people even have a right not to come forward. I don't think they do, I think it's their duty to testify and bring justice if they have the power to do it.

But as far as not wanting to put money in the pocket of same gang member? Is your not wanting to put money in a gang member's pocket more important than wanting to bring a murderer to justice? I know which one I think is more important.


I doubt if any of you know this, but my Wife's cousin was a policeman shot in the line of duty last summer. He was patrolling a neigborhood talking to some kids when an 18 year old shot him in the face.

He was just charged this week with an additional two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, because he hired a hitman while in jail to "silence" 2 witnesses. Hit trial begins in March.

[Mile High Mania]

Well, when I read this article earlier this morning, my first thought (sadly) was "There's going to be a bunch of folks at CP that bash this b/c the reward money isn't enough".

Thanks for not letting me down...

There is no honor among thieves and since there's a good chance that whomever steps up could do so without his identity being revealed to the public, then the chances are good in my opinion.

[vailpass]

I doubt if any of you know this, but my Wife's cousin was a policeman shot in the line of duty last summer. He was patrolling a neigborhood talking to some kids when an 18 year old shot him in the face.

He was just charged this week with an additional two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, because he hired a hitman while in jail to "silence" 2 witnesses. Hit trial begins in March.

Best wishes to your wife's cousin and family. I hope the POS that pulled the trigger gets his poop deck swabbed with a splintery broom handle every morning, noon, and night by a couple of pipe hitting ****** with blow torches and pliers.