Clark, Harris and other members of the Tre Tre Crips, a northeast Denver street gang, got angry at the Broncos in the club because Marshall's cousin sprayed champagne around the VIP area when the new year arrived.
Marshall provided a more comprehensive timeline while deleting his cousin altogether. The jury may or may not buy the deletion, but the rest of the tale confirmed several reports that have been floating around since that night. It didn't hurt the drama or value of Marshall's testimony that he has never before spoken publicly about that night.
He testified that the problems began as soon as he and his party arrived at the club. Clark, in the crowd outside waiting to enter, took exception to Marshall's party going right in, saying those on the street had money to spend too.
Marshall said he tried to make a joke, telling Clark if he had money, drinks inside could be on him. Clark didn't laugh. Marshall testified he told the bouncer to let Clark and Harris in, trying to defuse the situation.
That's why he got angry later when he found Clark and Harris confronting Williams and his table in the club's VIP area, he said. By other accounts, the confrontation at Williams' table was about champagne sprayed by Marshall's cousin. Marshall said he wasn't with his cousin at the time and didn't see anyone spraying champagne. In any case, the dispute continued, Marshall now upset his good turn was being repaid with hostility.
By the time they all spilled outside at closing time, Marshall admitted he was angry and helped to escalate the confrontation, eventually getting punched in the jaw by Harris, he said. When he saw Clark's group running off for no apparent reason, he said he had a bad feeling about what was coming next.
"I just remember, like, man, it's time to get out of here," he said.
The defense went after Marshall hard. Some of its attempts to undermine his credibility hit their marks. Still, it's a debatable legal strategy before a jury that's bound to include some Broncos fans. Motive is probably not Clark's strongest suit.
This was defense attorney Abraham Hutt's first question, referring to Marshall's initial 2007 police interview: "The first thing you told them was a lie, wasn't it?"
The issue? Whether Marshall disclosed the names of his entire traveling party that night. Even if he omitted his cousin and teammate Elvis Dumervil on purpose to protect them, it seems likely the jury will view that as a rather minor offense compared to some of the other stuff it's heard about. This trial is not rated PG.
Typically, Marshall didn't give an inch, battling Hutt just as he battled the Crips that night, just as he battled Broncos coach Josh McDaniels last season. It's who he is. The same quality that provided the prosecution's best day so far on behalf of his fallen teammate also contributed to the hostilities that led up to his murder.
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