COVER FROM DARRENT WILLIAMS FUNERAL PROGRAM
COMPLETECOLORADO.COM EDITORIAL:
JUSTICE FOR LONNIE CLARK, DARRENT WILLIAMS, and the HARVEY STEINBERG CONNECTION
A COMPLETECOLORADO.COM EDITORIALOctober 8th, 2008 THE STRANGE CONNECTION BETWEEN A GANGSTER, A BRONCOS RISING STAR, AND A DENVER ATTORNEY  Lonnie Clark Kalonnian Clark has been dead for over a year and a half now. But in her death, she has also been left bereft of justice, and no one should care more than the Denver Broncos. Four weeks before Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was murdered on New Year's morning, someone broke into the home of Kalonnian Clark (nicknamed Lonnie), and shot her just outside her front door. Who knows if Darrent Williams, or any other member of the Broncos paid attention to the news of that murder at the time. But in a strange sense, had Darrent Williams picked up the paper to read the story, he very well might have been reading about a piece of the puzzle as to why his own murder remains unsolved to this day. If only reading the book by the cover, one would hardly dare call Clark a modern-day hero. Yet that's what she was. Clark was a hero because she had the courage to call a gangster out, to say enough was enough. Furthermore, Clark turned away from vigilante or street justice, and instead, placed her trust in the judicial system. Lonnie Clark claimed that one of the most well-known and feared gangsters in all of Denver, Brian Hicks, had tried to kill her in the summer of 2005. The Denver DA's office took up the case. Doing what few others had the courage to do, Clark agreed to testify, meaning she would have to face Hicks in court. One can imagine the TV-like drama if Clark had ever made it to the stand. December 3rd, 2006, Lonny Clark was asked to drop the case against Hicks. However, she was not asked by the DA's office, and she was not asked by any attorney. The girlfriend of Brian Hicks was Kimaya James. Kimaya James told Clark in a recorded phone call that if she didn't drop the case, “it's the same s***, and it's just gonna get worse if we don't take care of it.” Click HERE for the full, uncensored phone call you will only find on CompleteColorado.com. Kimaya James was prosecuted for witness intimidation (PAGE 1, PAGE 2), but was acquitted by a Denver jury. December 9th, 2006, Clark's voice was forever silenced by an intruder. The day after the murder, her frozen blood was still on the sidewalk outside her home, and the trash on the corner still contained the bloodied resuscitator that could not save her life. Newspapers and reporters may not have been able to say outright that this was a witness killing, but is there any doubt what the message was on the street? Brian Hicks was in custody the night Clark was murdered, so he could not have been responsible for Clark's death, right? In another recorded phone call originally obtained by CompleteColorado.com, (Click HERE for the uncensored audio) Hicks brags to his girlfriend Kimaya James that “if he [Hicks referring to himself in the third person] wanted it done, it could be done.” In other words, Brian Hicks seems to be claiming that he has the capacity, the know-how, and the guts to pull off a witness killing, even from behind bars. True, he is innocent until proven guilty, but his own words suggest he's capable of such a crime. While the murder of Lonnie Clark made news, it could not compare to the shock sent through the front range on January 1st, 2007 when Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was murdered. More than a week after the murder, Denver Police were still having trouble getting cooperation with witnesses. Days after the murder, the Broncos upped the reward, and the Rocky Mountain News reported: One gang expert greeted the news with appreciation for the team having "stepped up," but said money isn't necessarily what has kept witnesses from talking.Dead like Lonnie Clark? This article is an editorial only. It makes no assumptions about the guilt or innocence of ANY crime for any individual named within.
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