Man convicted in slaying of NFL player

DENVER (AP) - Suspected gang member Willie Clark was found guilty of murder Thursday in the drive-by shooting death of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams.

A jury returned the verdict after an 11-day trial and a day and a half of deliberation.

Clark showed no emotion as the verdict was read, but leaned back and looked at the ceiling once the jury was dismissed. He gave a small smile to relatives before he was taken from the courtroom in handcuffs.

There was no immediate word on a possible appeal, but defense attorney Darren Cantor told three sobbing people in the courtroom, "Try to breathe, OK? That's what appeals are for."

Williams' mother, Rosalind, wept as she left the courtroom. Cantor told reporters that Clark's family was upset and didn't want to speak to reporters.

Clark faces life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for April 30.

Williams was killed on New Year's Day 2007. Prosecutors said Clark fired the fatal shots from an SUV that pulled up beside a rented limo carrying Williams and some friends.

"It was this man, who indiscriminately, with universal maliciousness ... took it upon himself to unload his .40-caliber handgun into that limousine full of innocent people," Chief Deputy District Attorney Timothy Twining said in his closing argument.

Clark was angry over an altercation involving friends of Williams and friends of Clark that occurred in a nightclub just before the shooting, prosecutors said. A member of Williams' group had sprayed champagne on New Year's partiers.

Defense attorney Abraham Hutt said Clark wasn't even in the SUV during the shooting.

"This is what this is about: Willie Clark is a scapegoat," Hutt told jurors.

Hutt tried to undercut the credibility of five prosecution witnesses who got shorter prison time in other cases in exchange for testifying. Hutt said the five saw their sentences reduced by a combined 188 years.

Hutt said the prosecution's star witness, Daniel "Ponytail" Harris, faced a life sentence for a drug charge but will be released within two years. Harris testified that he saw Clark fire the shots.

Security was tight throughout the trial, and 13 armed sheriff's deputies stood in the courtroom as the verdict was read.

Clark declined to testify, citing threats to himself and his family. Cantor said gang members had threatened to turn him into "Swiss cheese" if he said anything in court.

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Associated Press Writer Colleen Slevin contributed to this report.