Atlas
07-10-2007, 11:12 AM
Feds: Figures in Bronco slaying tied to 11 deaths
One of the Tre-Tre Crips gang members, Willie Clark, is moved from state to federal custody to face drug charges.
By Kirk Mitchell
Denver Post Staff Writer
Willie "Little Lett" Clark, 24, was charged in U.S. District Court with possession and distribution of between 500 grams and 5 kilograms of cocaine or 5 to 50 grams of crack.
No bond has been set in the case, in which federal authorities allege Clark was tied to a violent street gang suspected of killing 11 people, committing home-invasion robberies and running an extensive illegal-drug operation, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
The document does not say whether Williams' murder was one of the 11 connected to the document.
Clark was arrested four days after Williams' drive-by murder on New Year's Day and sent to state prison for violating his parole on a 2002 conviction for motor-vehicle theft. He was carrying $7,283 - with traces of drugs on the bills - at the time of his arrest, authorities said.
Neither Clark, who has been arrested 25 times, nor anyone else has been arrested in connection to Williams' murder.
Sources have told The Denver Post that authorities believe Clark was one of three gang members inside a white Chevrolet Tahoe that was used in the shooting that killed the 24-year-old cornerback.
The metro gang task force, made up of local, state and federal officers, arrested Clark and 71 others, including members of the Rolling 30's Crip Street gang, following an investigation that began in August 2005.
The task force tapped 45 telephone wires and intercepted 160,000 phone calls during its investigation. Investigators relied on extensive surveillance and several confidential informants.
Prosecutors at Friday's hearing declined to comment.
Clark belongs to a very active branch of the Rolling 30's called the Tre-Tre Crips, the affidavit said. A subset of that gang is called the Elite Eight, led by Brian Hicks, whose SUV police believe was used in the Williams shooting.
The gang sold crack and guns, and committed home invasions and drug rip-offs, the affidavit said.
"There are approximately 11 unsolved murders which can be traced to members of the Elite Eight and the Tre-Tre Crips," the document says.
The record documents Clark's rise in prominence in the gang as he used profits from drug deals to buy ever-increasing amounts of drugs. In 2006, a confidential informant told investigators that he sold Clark and Hicks 1 1/2 kilograms, or 3.3 pounds, of cocaine for $24,000. Hicks paid $19,000 in cash at the time, owing $5,000.
Clark and Quentin Jones ran a drug house for Hicks at a duplex at East 43rd Avenue and Cook Street, an informant told officers. Clark, who graduated from a drug runner to a "cook," allegedly converted cocaine into crack and sold the drug from the duplex, the affidavit says.
Hicks opened a business last fall at 2019 E. Colfax Ave. called the "Hott Spott." The business paid no taxes, the court record says.
On Nov. 6, authorities arrested Hicks and two other gang members following a high-speed chase during which the suspects threw 4 kilograms of cocaine out a window, the document says.
While he was in jail, Hicks repeatedly issued orders to his gang on the jail's phone, which were all recorded. He ordered Clark to collect money for him, the affidavit says.
After police arrested Clark, Hicks called an associate and said he was worried that Clark may feel abandoned and could "say something stupid." According to jail records, Clark then received three visits over the next three days from different people.
Clark was paroled from the Denver Diagnostic Center on Thursday into the custody of the FBI's metro gang task force, said Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. Contrary to assertions made by a spokesperson for the state Department of Corrections on Thursday night, Clark was never out of custody.
"He never hit the street," said Tim Hand, assistant director of parole with the Colorado Department of Corrections.
Ken Deal, chief deputy for the U.S. Marshals Service in Colorado, said Clark will be held at the Federal Detention Center in Englewood.
One of the Tre-Tre Crips gang members, Willie Clark, is moved from state to federal custody to face drug charges.
By Kirk Mitchell
Denver Post Staff Writer
Willie "Little Lett" Clark, 24, was charged in U.S. District Court with possession and distribution of between 500 grams and 5 kilograms of cocaine or 5 to 50 grams of crack.
No bond has been set in the case, in which federal authorities allege Clark was tied to a violent street gang suspected of killing 11 people, committing home-invasion robberies and running an extensive illegal-drug operation, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
The document does not say whether Williams' murder was one of the 11 connected to the document.
Clark was arrested four days after Williams' drive-by murder on New Year's Day and sent to state prison for violating his parole on a 2002 conviction for motor-vehicle theft. He was carrying $7,283 - with traces of drugs on the bills - at the time of his arrest, authorities said.
Neither Clark, who has been arrested 25 times, nor anyone else has been arrested in connection to Williams' murder.
Sources have told The Denver Post that authorities believe Clark was one of three gang members inside a white Chevrolet Tahoe that was used in the shooting that killed the 24-year-old cornerback.
The metro gang task force, made up of local, state and federal officers, arrested Clark and 71 others, including members of the Rolling 30's Crip Street gang, following an investigation that began in August 2005.
The task force tapped 45 telephone wires and intercepted 160,000 phone calls during its investigation. Investigators relied on extensive surveillance and several confidential informants.
Prosecutors at Friday's hearing declined to comment.
Clark belongs to a very active branch of the Rolling 30's called the Tre-Tre Crips, the affidavit said. A subset of that gang is called the Elite Eight, led by Brian Hicks, whose SUV police believe was used in the Williams shooting.
The gang sold crack and guns, and committed home invasions and drug rip-offs, the affidavit said.
"There are approximately 11 unsolved murders which can be traced to members of the Elite Eight and the Tre-Tre Crips," the document says.
The record documents Clark's rise in prominence in the gang as he used profits from drug deals to buy ever-increasing amounts of drugs. In 2006, a confidential informant told investigators that he sold Clark and Hicks 1 1/2 kilograms, or 3.3 pounds, of cocaine for $24,000. Hicks paid $19,000 in cash at the time, owing $5,000.
Clark and Quentin Jones ran a drug house for Hicks at a duplex at East 43rd Avenue and Cook Street, an informant told officers. Clark, who graduated from a drug runner to a "cook," allegedly converted cocaine into crack and sold the drug from the duplex, the affidavit says.
Hicks opened a business last fall at 2019 E. Colfax Ave. called the "Hott Spott." The business paid no taxes, the court record says.
On Nov. 6, authorities arrested Hicks and two other gang members following a high-speed chase during which the suspects threw 4 kilograms of cocaine out a window, the document says.
While he was in jail, Hicks repeatedly issued orders to his gang on the jail's phone, which were all recorded. He ordered Clark to collect money for him, the affidavit says.
After police arrested Clark, Hicks called an associate and said he was worried that Clark may feel abandoned and could "say something stupid." According to jail records, Clark then received three visits over the next three days from different people.
Clark was paroled from the Denver Diagnostic Center on Thursday into the custody of the FBI's metro gang task force, said Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. Contrary to assertions made by a spokesperson for the state Department of Corrections on Thursday night, Clark was never out of custody.
"He never hit the street," said Tim Hand, assistant director of parole with the Colorado Department of Corrections.
Ken Deal, chief deputy for the U.S. Marshals Service in Colorado, said Clark will be held at the Federal Detention Center in Englewood.