AURORA | A Denver jury yesterday convicted a 28-year-old Aurora man of murder for gunning down a witness in 2006 so the witness wouldn’t testify against a notorious Denver drug dealer.
Shun Birch was convicted late Thursday of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, according to a statement from the Denver District Attorney’s Office. A judge immediately sentenced Birch to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the mandatory sentence for a first-degree murder conviction in Colorado. Birch was also sentenced to an additional 48 years in prison.
The jury acquitted Birch of first-degree burglary and felony murder.
According to prosecutors, Birch and Willie Clark killed 28-year-old Kalonniann Clark in 2006 to stop her from testifying in an upcoming trial against Brian Hicks, a reputed Denver gang member and drug dealer.
A Denver jury convicted Hicks last month of first-degree murder, solicitation to commit first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and aggravated intimidation of a victim. Hicks, too, was sentenced to life in prison.
A trial date for Clark, who last year was sentenced to life in prison for killing Denver Broncos player Darrent Williams in early 2007, has not yet been scheduled.
Birch was sentenced last year to five years in federal prison on drug and weapons charges.
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