THE COLD CASE FILES: Gang killing, 2001
Each victim is a face frozen in time, haunting investigators whose job it is to bring their killers to justice decades after the trail has gone cold.
The Gazette in cooperation with the Colorado Springs Police Department runs a weekly feature called “The Cold Case Files.” The Colorado Springs Police Department Homicide Cold Case Unit is currently responsible for approximately 90 unsolved homicide cases dating back to 1949. CSPD considers a case to be cold if it remains unsolved for more than one year. If you have any information that would be of assistance in these investigations, please contact 719-444-7613, by e-mail at CSPDColdCase@springsgov.com or you may remain anonymous and could earn a cash reward by calling Crime Stoppers at 634-STOP (7867).
The Victim: Ricarge “Ricky” Williams, 32, gang killing , 2001
File Number: 01-22484
The Crime: Responding to a report of a shooting at the Queens Knights Lounge around 1:30 a.m. on July 5, 2001, police officers found a man lying in the parking lot of the nightclub, which was in a shopping center at Murray Boulevard and Platte Avenue. Ricarge “Ricky” Williams was taken to Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy by the El Paso County Coroner’s Office found Williams had been shot three times in the chest.
Witnesses told police that a fight broke out that night in the club between members of the 81 Crips and Gangster Disciples street gangs. A man, possibly the victim, was seen waving a gun inside the club before Williams was shot in the parking lot, witnesses said.
The Investigation: Officers questioned more than 60 people who were at the club that night and detectives and crime lab investigators found several different caliber shell casings at the scene. No suspects have been named and no arrested have been made.
