Shun Birch found guilty of murdering a witness; co-defendant Willie Clark's trial date not yet set

A second man, 29-year-old Shun Birch, has been convicted of murdering a witness named Kalonniann Clark in 2006. He was one of three men charged with Clark's killing -- and perhaps the least known. Reputed gang leader Brian Hicks was found guilty at a trial last month. Willie Clark, previously...

By Melanie Asmar

March 11, 2011

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A second man, 29-year-old Shun Birch, has been convicted of murdering a witness named Kalonniann Clark in 2006. He was one of three men charged with Clark's killing -- and perhaps the least known. Reputed gang leader Brian Hicks was found guilty at a trial last month. Willie Clark, previously convicted of killing Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams, is also charged with murdering Kalonniann Clark (no relation), but his trial date has yet to be set.

See the Denver District Attorney's press release about Birch below:

BIRCH GUILTY IN '06 WITNESS MURDER

A Denver jury has returned guilty verdicts [yesterday] against one of three men charged in connection with the murder of 28-year-old Kalonniann Clark in 2006.

Shun Birch (dob: 03-31-81) was found guilty late [yesterday] of first-degree murder (F1) and conspiracy to commit first degree murder (F2). The jury found him not guilty of first-degree burglary and felony murder.

Birch went to immediate sentencing and was given life in prison without parole plus 48 years.

Chief Deputy DA Tim Twining and Deputy DA Annmarie Spain prosecuted the case, in which the charges alleged that Birch shot and killed Clark in December 2006 to keep her from testifying in an upcoming criminal case against Brian Hicks.

Hicks was found guilty last month of one count of first-degree murder (F1), solicitation to commit first-degree murder (F2), conspiracy to commit first-degree murder (F2), and aggravated intimidation of a victim (F3) and was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 120 years.

A trial date for the third co-defendant, Willie Clark, (no relation to the victim) has not yet been set.

For more on Willie Clark and Brian Hicks, check out the Westword feature, "In the Hunt for Darrent Williams' Killer, the Cops Went on the Offensive Early."

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Melanie Asmar is a staff writer for Westword. She joined the paper in 2009 and has won awards for her stories about education, immigration and epic legal battles. Got a tip? She'd love to hear it.

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