Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Was Darrent Williams a Gang Banger?

My favorite NFL team had just been cancelled from post season play and I guess some of, it not all, the players were drowning their misery. The story is that starting cornerback, Darrent Williams, was gunned down while riding in a stretch limo, after leaving a Denver nightclub. I started looking at the photo journal put up by the team when the tattoos caught my eye. Having been a cop for over 30 years and having worked with the gang unit on occasion, and having arrested numerous gangsters during my time, I was particularly interested in the tattoos. I copied some of the photos from the Broncos site and zoomed in on a few.

It appears to me that I can see a 5 point star on Darrent's left bicept and possibly a pitchfork just below it. Maybe I'm just being overly suspicious, but you can tell me what you think. I'm posting the photos here:

Click to Enlarge
Pitchfork?
Click to Enlarge

Vice Lord star?
Click to Enlarge


If these are gang tats, the next question is this: was Darrent a current gang member, or was this a tat from his past? I hate that Darrent has met this fate, but if he was a gangster, maybe this will once again demonstrate the perils of a gangster's existence. If he was a gangster, was it a rival gang that did the shooting, or was it someone within the same gang? Another thought is that it might have been a Broncos fan who was mad because they went in the tank over the last 7 games. Whatever the "reason", the end result is a terrible waste of talent and humanity.

Here's a link to some gang tattoos for comparison.

34 comments:

John Harvey said...

I received an email from a reporter with the Denver Post on this subject. I emailed back to him asking what about the tattoos? At the time of this writing, I have not received a reply.


Thanks for presenting this. I did a personal interview with Darrent last month, it ran Dec. 3 and it has been reposted on the Denver Post website. In the interview, he said he associated with the Cripps when he was a teenager, but was actually never part of the gang. I assure you he has not been associated with any gang since he went off to college. Mike

Anonymous said...

I love football. Loved playing it and loved watching it but not anymore. Proball has been taken over by THUGS! Criminals that get a slap on the wrist because they can run fast or hit hard. I have too many thugs living on my street and working in my city government to watch them on tv too!
Great website by the way!

John Harvey said...

Thanks. I agree there are too many gangsters in sports and other aspects of our lives. I have quit watching the NBA (National Bangers Association) because of all the tattoos I see (gang type).

MtnMama said...

It's impossible to tell from the pictures just what the tats are. Is this all you have to go on? Awfully speculative.

Anonymous said...

This doesn't make you sound like a racist at all.

John Harvey said...

It's impossible to tell from the pictures just what the tats are. Is this all you have to go on? Awfully speculative.

I'd say I have more to go on than just some bad pics of tats. How about "drive by shooting" being a preferred method of gangsters killing? How about the "fact" that Darrent admitted he "hung" with gangsters? Now, we have tats on him, hanging with gangsters in the past, and a drive by shooting.

I'm thinking he was killed by gangsters. I think he was, at the very least, hanging around with some gangsters. And, he may have been killed by accident, or he may have been the target. Booze, drugs, and gangsters are not a good combination. Going to a joint where all three are going to be encountered is just plain dumb.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Colombo.

P.S. You're an idiot.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure the NBA misses you, cracker.

When will you "expose" all the white ball players with tattoos? Or are there any?

John Harvey said...

I'm sure the NBA misses you, cracker.

When will you "expose" all the white ball players with tattoos? Or are there any?


YOUR racism is showing. I never said anything about what race of gangsters were in the NBA. There are plenty of white gangsters, and some in the NBA too.

Gangs come in all flavors, white, hispanic, black, asian. My antipathy isn't restricted to only blacks. It' the gang mentality of just taking what they want that bothers me. They are anarchists, regardless of race.

You might want to assess your own feelings in this matter. Darrent's being black has nothing to do with this issue.

Anonymous said...

It doesn't take "Columbo" to figure out most drive by shootings are the work of gang members. The tattoos might mean nothing at all, or they might mean a whole lot; I'm no expert on gang markings and the images here aren't very good quality. There have been no reports of Williams being anything other than an all-around good guy with the Broncos, so it's rather hard to believe he had any active ties to gangs. But, his admitted past connections to gang members makes one wonder if that didn't have something to do with it.

Interestingly, the party Williams was leaving was hosted by Nuggets player Kenyon Martin, who has a thuggish reputation. (You may recall members of his posse went into the stands to rough up a heckler last season.) Martin happens to be from the Dallas area, while Williams was from around Fort Worth, I believe. Whether these guys had/have any actual gang ties or not, the thug lifestyle attracts real gangsters.

Anonymous said...

Looks that way to me. Live the Thug life, pay the Thug price.

Anonymous said...

to me it did look like pitchforks. but i couldnt see the star. and i can say from gang experience that there would in no way be a pitch fork and 5 pointed star associated with each other like that if he was infact a gang member. some i have seen is a cracked 5 point star with pitchforks coming from inside of it. but unless theres is a disrespectful meaning to one gang, which it didnt look like there was. they wouldnt be together like that

John Harvey said...

Here's some info about gang grafitti that may have meaning:

PEOPLE:
Use the slogan “All is well.”

ALWAYS represents to the LEFT, i.e., hat worn or tilted to the left, arms folded to the left, pant leg folded on the left leg, hand inside the left pocket, earring worn in left ear, etc.

Their symbols include 5 pointed stars and crowns as well as moons.

===================================
This 5 point star on Darrent's left arm appears to be accompanied by a pitchfork that is on fire. Or, the pitchfork could be a goalpost. I don't know and I haven't seen any clearer pictures of the tats.

Anonymous said...

he cant be a gangbanger man pitch fork is a gang called folks they repp red and try to kill bloods

5point star is a different gang they try to kill folks so basically i dont think he would have 2different gangs

John Harvey said...

Unless, he was disrespecting one gang. He may have had a tattoo of the rival gang that was upside down, on fire, X'd out, etc.

Then again, maybe he just liked to hang with gangsters, ran with them when he was a kid, but never participated. (yeah right)

Anonymous said...

um i know alot about gangs, and if he hung out with crips, that doesnt mean he was a crip, and if thats a 5 point star on his arm, thats what the bloods are and ALOT of random people have 5 point stars tattooed on them and most of the time its not gang related, and if he hung out with crips (who's star is a 6 point star) they wouldnt allow him to be around them if it was a gang related tattoo. HE WAS NOT A GANG BANGER. just a regular person.

John Harvey said...

Gangstahs have a thing they call dissing. Darrent could have been displaying one of the gang signs on fire, or upside down,etc. Either way, if he wasn't a "certified" gangster, he ran with them, and I think most would agree, that was his undoing. If he hadn't been hanging with them in a gangstah hangout, he might still be playing excellent football.

We just had a gangbanger in Memphis kill 6 people, some of which were his own family. Most of these gangsters should be ground up and used for fish food. That way something good could come from their miserable existence - fried or cajun catfish!

Anonymous said...

If he wasn't a gangster, it would be suicidal to get ANY type of tattoo associated with ANY gang that was prevalent in the neighborhood where he was raised. Teachers in those neighborhoods don't even give out 'gold stars' for performance in the elementary schools because they are that afraid.

Anonymous said...

Look. Here is the deal. I came across all this BS by accident. There is no way, as stated that he would have a 5 pt star and a fork. It would also be unlikely that any gangster would diss another set with a tattoo. It would be in a tag over another sets graffiti more often than not. He couldn't even hang with diff sets with enemy tattoos. Also, for the idiot that said "he cant be a gangbanger man pitch fork is a gang called folks they repp red and try to kill bloods", you are misinformed dumbass. It's the Folk Nation and they don't wear red. Forks are for the Gangster Disciples and I hung with them in case anyone is wondering. Red is for vice lords and they are the people nation.

John Harvey said...

We've been seeing many family members who belong to different gangs, yet still run together. Who says gangsters are always at each other's throat?

Anonymous said...

funny..I live in denver every gangsta around here knows who popped williams it was a crip set in 5 points across from parkhill, my cuzzin thats a 52 hoover (crip) said williams was a blood but dosent kno what happin inside the club to spark off the night but my cuzzin was there it was a spot in LODO but yea it was a set in 5 points close to the denver zoo across from park hill

Anonymous said...

first of all it would make sense to have a upright pitch fork and a 5-point star cuz a pitch fork is the folk nation and GDs, a five point star is the vice lords, the rival gang of the folks. it would not be logical at all to have both on there PLUS if he were a blood as they this dude says cuz he is from five points in denver then he would also not sport the pitch fork cuz the folks are associated with the crips. Why do people always gotta throw salt on people when they aint around. He, as many people believe, was a good kid so leave it at that and forget the vicky lous and slobs.

John Harvey said...

I know a little about gangs, having locked them up for decades. I used to think once a person was a gangster, in a specific gang, they were always in that gang. That isn't true. Just last week, our gang unit arrested a guy who is now a GD, and he had previously belonged to the CRIPS. So, the bottom line is, anything can happen.

As to Darrent Williams, the facts speak for themself. He hung with gangsters, went to a gangster hangout, and got killed (gangstyle). I enjoyed watching him play for my team, but he was the author of his own destruction, as we all are.

Anonymous said...

do yall even kno the true meaning of the 5 point star????The five-point star means love, truth, peace, freedom, and justice...yea gang members rock it but it dosent always have to be gang related...i highly doubt that he really repped either gang because the fork is GD and the star is Blood...and for the dumbass who said Folks wear red um go shoot yourself in the foot because a GD wouldnt be caught dead wearing red they wear black flags no red...how do i know???because where i live at in GA thats where they stay i go to school with them too so i think i would know

John Harvey said...

footballaj255,

You must be incredibly young, or just dumb. Or, you must think we are stupid. Darrent Williams was known to hang with gangsters, he was killed outside a gangstah hangout. He was killed in a drive by shooting. That is one of the preferred methods of gangstahs.

I have been a Denver Broncos fan since the early '70s, and I love them today. But, Darrent was hanging with the wrong people. He may or may not have been a gangster, but the facts support the notion that, at the very least, he was associating with them. If he had been somewhere having a few brewskies with his buds, other than a gang hangout, he would be alive today.

I hate that he died, but he was the author of his own destruction.

Anonymous said...

man jus cuz h got killed in a drive by dosnt mean he was in a gang. yea thats how gangs kill but hat dont mean he was in one. n if he was in the crip gang he wuldnt have a 5 tip star smart guy thats the blood star. n everybody else thats bein stupid bout the nba n the nfl n all the players that have tats are jus wana bs that culdnt cut it. ur jus mad cuz people are better then you n try too find every little thing that can make them look bad. thats why sports today are hated opon because of people like you that look for stuff, too make up stories on the people that worked hard too get too the pros. n one last thing bout darrent williams if he was with crips the whole time then why would crips kill him?

Anonymous said...

who cares if he was a gangbanger hes dead move on with your life

Anonymous said...

i use to bang GD, first off Folks bang the pitchfork and that why Crips and folk been fightin cuzz crips use the pitchfork in some knowledge.. and plus Folk bangs to the rite not the left..and so do Bloods...so the jive point crown on the left culd be a westside damu blood not a vicey loo and in order to have two opposing alliances like that on his arm the pitchfork has to be upside down underneath the crown..so dont look into it too much it look gangsta but thats why he got plugged cuzz ni66az thought he was a joker having them tats..like a gangsta wearin blue and red and sayin he blooded

Anonymous said...

as a current member in GD, i can tell u those tats are conflicting, 5 point star=people nation-bloods,vice lords ETC. pitchfork=FOLKS-gangster disciples,crips ETC. FOLK TILL I DIE-74-14 2.15.19

John Harvey said...

I agree those are conflicting tats, which I have pointed out numerous times. I think he may have been dissing one of the other gangs by showing a tat on fire. I'm pretty sure he was banger, or he closely associated with them. I agree with one of the previous banger's statement that the opposing tats may have played a part in his demise.

Anonymous said...

John you said yourself IF these are gang tats, he might not even be a gangster. You keep on saying these are conflicting tats and he is dissing another gang, he wouldnt be dissing another gang because look how close you had to zoom in to even see if he was at all, dissing another gang. Maybe someone else was supposed to get shot in the drive by and he got hit instead, ever think of that?

John Harvey said...

You know, I would love to believe he wasn't a gangster, but the evidence convicts him - for me. He came from gangland, admitted he ran with them (while disavowing membership), had the tats and was killed in front of a known gangster hangout. Too much evidence for me.

Anonymous said...

Look Im no gang expert but I am somewhat of a tattoo expert I have nearly 20 and live about 3 minutes from a tattoo parlor. I have a 5 point star on my left forearm. I also see lots of people with them in my neighborhood and I live miles from gangland. Any reason Darrent WIlliams couldnt have just wanted that particular tattoo? I did. Im not gang affiliated just someone who like that tattoo

John Harvey said...

See the previous posts regarding the preponderance of the evidence. If Darrent only had a tat, and none of the other circumstances were there, maybe so. However, that is not the case. He was a banger.