In his second season, Williams was already a starter and had four interceptions, second-best on the team. He was tied for third in tackles with 86.

“After three long years, it is very gratifying to see closure brought to this case,” Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said in a prepared statement.

Shortly before the shooting, Williams had said he wanted to return to his native Fort Worth to talk to kids about staying out of gangs.

“The guy had an excellent future ahead of him and to see it cut short senselessly by violence, it’s just really sad,” said Nick Ferguson, a former Broncos safety who played with Williams.

“As elated as I am, as happy as I am over the conviction, it won’t bring Darrent back to his mom or to his kids,” Ferguson said. “But I do know, after all this time, this means a lot for his family. Maybe now, Darrent can rest in peace.”

Clark showed no emotion as the verdict was read. He leaned back and looked at the ceiling when the jury was dismissed, and gave a small smile to relatives before he was taken from the courtroom in handcuffs.

There was no immediate word on a possible appeal. But Cantor told three sobbing people in the courtroom, “Try to breathe, OK? That’s what appeals are for.”

Williams’ mother, Rosalind Williams, wept as she left the courtroom.

“Something has to happen in society to stop gang violence,” she said afterward.

Asked if she thought there were other gang members responsible for her son’s slaying, Williams gave a tight smile, leaned into a microphone and said, “No comment.”

Jurors deliberated a day and a half before convicting Clark on all 21 counts he faced, including the attempted murders of the 16 others in the limousine.

“We’ll never know what happened that night,” Rosalind Williams said. “This is a start, to clean up the streets here and hopefully everywhere else.”

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