Police pursue leads in Williams case

Broncos hold private memorial at headquarters

? Police are searching for a particular white 1998 Chevrolet Tahoe as they investigate the drive-by shooting death of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams.

Police spokeswoman Virginia Quinones said officers were focusing on the 1998 Tahoe, which might have been used in the slaying. Police earlier had said they were searching for a white Tahoe or Suburban with dark-tinted windows.

Spokesman Sonny Jackson said investigators were pursuing other tips but had not identified any suspects and were unsure of the nature of the taunts that they believe sparked an altercation at a night club before the shooting that also wounded two other people.

“It’s a situation where anyone who knows what happened or has any information, we’d love to hear,” Jackson said.

Williams sustained a single gunshot wound to the neck, according to Robert Whitmore, chief medical examiner in the county coroner’s office.

The Broncos planned held a private memorial Wednesday at team headquarters so that Williams’ teammates could tell his family what he meant to them. The Broncos will also fly together to Fort Worth, Texas, for Williams’ funeral on Saturday.

“I don’t think he had a guy that wasn’t his best friend,” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said Tuesday. “He always had a smile on his face. You never know why God takes somebody, but I know He got somebody pretty special with Darrent.”

Denver owner pat bowlen leaves a memorial for murdered player Darrent Williams. The team held a private memorial Wednesday in Denver.

Receiver Javon Walker was with Williams in the limousine when he was killed and was one of several players who met with professional counselors the team brought in.

“He just went through a tragic experience,” Shanahan said. “A lot of times when somebody has that happen to them, they wonder why it (wasn’t them). That’s just human nature and obviously the counselors are talking with him about that. It’s a process. It takes some time.”

Shanahan didn’t need much time – just one conversation – to realize Williams was worth drafting in the second round in 2005.

“There were some question marks about Darrent,” Shanahan said. “So I brought him in here and asked him about some of those questions, and I felt so good about him when he left I said, ‘Hey, I am just hoping he is here with our first pick in the second round because he is a first-round guy.’ … I just hope that we get lucky, and we did get lucky.”

And while the Oklahoma State product was drafted primarily to return punts, he earned the starting cornerback position opposite Champ Bailey in his rookie season.