Commerce City on high alert after boy killed in fight
By Brian D. Crecente And Julie Poppen, Rocky Mountain News
Metro-area police are gearing up for what they fear may be bloody retaliation for this week’s gang shooting that left one boy dead and his brother injured.
“That’s a big concern right now,” said Chris Collins, Commerce City police spokesman. “This weekend is being treated as a high possibility for conflict. It has been passed along in briefings.”
Commerce City police have increased the number of patrol officers by a third, he said. Denver and Aurora police, too, are keeping an eye out for possible flare-ups.
Bennie Williams, 15, bled to death Thursday afternoon in the middle of a Commerce City street as a frantic neighbor knelt by his side, trying to assure him he would be all right.
Bennie’s older brother, Rodney, 16, was in critical condition Friday, but is expected to survive, friends of the family said.
Four people have been arrested in connection with the shooting, which happened about 12:45 p.m. at a park near Adams City High School.
The accused shooter, Paul Pena, appeared in court Friday shackled and wearing a blue prison uniform.
The 19-year-old was advised of the charges against him. No bond was set.
Pena is being held on charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault.
Pena’s family declined to comment after the court hearing.
Jose Munoz, 20, who also appeared in court Friday, is accused of driving Pena around to look for the Williams brothers and driving Pena away from the scene after the shooting.
Two boys, both 15, were being held at the Adams County Juvenile Detention Facility on charges of violating probation for allegedly getting involved in the fight.
Arrest affidavits released Friday revealed that Pena was looking to settle a score with the Williams brothers because they had gotten into a fight with Pena’s younger brother the day before at the high school.
Pena and Munoz allegedly drove around the school Thursday looking for the brothers. When they couldn’t find them, the group went to Fairfax Park, where they spotted the brothers walking west on East 69th Avenue and chased them down.
The two groups of boys - members of rival gangs - flashed hand signs and insulted each other and then Pena and one of the Williams brothers began fighting, according to the affidavit. Then Jose Munoz jumped in, knocked the brother down and began beating him.
One witness, who was working at the park when the shooting happened, told police other gang members joined in, kicking the downed brother.
The other Williams brother then attacked Munoz with a screwdriver, stabbing him in the side, the witness said.
He said Pena shot the brother armed with a screwdriver three times.
Pena then allegedly moved to the other Williams brother, who was still on the ground, and reportedly said, “Get up cuz let’s finish this.” He reportedly shot the teen as he stood over him, according to the affidavit.
Witness accounts differ about which brother was knocked down and which one had the screwdriver.
The witness quoted in the police affidavit said in an interview Friday that he plans to quit his job at the park. He spoke on the condition he not be identified.
“If I go back to that job, I’m dead,” he said.
The man was hesitant to talk about the shooting out of fear of retaliation, but then went on to say it angered him.
“What I saw was a child getting killed,” said the man, a former gang member.
“I don’t care about colors. Take away the color and you still have a child.”
News of the shooting provoked outrage and fear among the family and friends of the victims.
Several said they fear another shooting, this one by the gang the Williams brothers allegedly belonged to.
“It’s hard for my little ones,” said a friend of the family who spoke on the condition her name not be used.
The woman, 38, said the brothers often came to her house to hang out with her 15-year-old brother and her children.
“Yesterday was a really hard day,” she said. “There were a lot of tears.”
The woman said she is afraid her young brother, who admits he is in the same gang as the Williams brothers, is going to get hurt.
“We are trying to keep him from going anyplace,” she said. “I’m hoping - I’m hoping nothing happens. But the first thing that goes through anybody’s head when someone is murdered, you get angry and you want to do something about it.”
Police, too, are concerned about more violence.
Commerce City planned to have a “very visible presence” at a Friday night vigil for the victims at the scene of the shooting.
“That could be a prime time for someone from another (gang) affiliation to start making trouble,” Collins said.
On Friday, school officials stepped up security at Adams City High School and sent home a letter to parents, in English and Spanish, briefly explaining the shooting and steps being taken to help students.
The Williams brothers have attended Commerce City schools since preschool. Both were suspended Wednesday for five days after a fight during lunch at school, said Adams City High Principal Fred Applewhite.
He said the school’s students are “really suffering . . . (but) we will make it through.”
crecenteb@RockyMountain News.com or 303-892-2811 Staff writer Nancy Mitchell contributed to this report.