Two arrested in 2002 gang killing
Two men have been arrested in a 7-year-old Colorado Springs killing after a jailhouse informant taped an inmate laughing about the shooting, closing an investigation hampered by witnesses afraid to talk because of gang involvement.
Clifford "C.J." Dupree, 32, a known member of the Gangster Disciples street gang, and Kentswan "Buck Wild" Davis, were arrested while incarcerated in prisons in the 2002 shooting death of Cornelius Dowdell, 29.
Dupree was in the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility in Ordway on convictions in El Paso County for burglary, drugs and escape. He was due to be released in May. Davis is being transferred to Colorado from New Orleans Parish Prison where he was serving time on a 2007 homicide conviction.
Dupree could be charged Tuesday with first-degree murder.
In the arrest affidavit, police detective Derek Graham said Dowdell was shot nine times, including twice in the head, at the Cedar Creek Apartments, 1070 S. Chelton Road, July 10, 2002. According to several witnesses from nearby apartments, Dowdell begged for his life before being shot, saying: "It doesn't have to be like this!"
Several people told investigators Dowdell was dealing drugs, and he had been arrested for assault, domestic violence, theft and drug charges from 1994-1996, court records show.
A man with Dowdell that night, 25-year-old Lavelle Phillips, told police two men ran up to Dowdell, pistol-whipped him, dragged him to the apartment complex parking lot, then shot him. Several other witnesses saw one of the attackers digging in Dowdell's pants pockets before he was shot.
A confidential informant told police Dupree held the victim while Davis shot him.
Terrence "T Murder" Williams agreed to wear a wire while in the El Paso County jail with Dupree in 2006 and taped Dupree laughing about the murder.
"Clifford Dupree stated that Kentswan Davis was looking at him (Clifford Dupree) with a deranged look," the affidavit states.
Last year, Graham confronted Dupree, who had been questioned about the killing in 2002, but denied being involved.
Dupree admitted he took part in the killing, according to the affidavit, and said Davis shot Dowdell after an argument over a drug deal gone bad.
Graham said Friday investigators never stop working cold cases.
Graham also cracked the 2001 killing of Patricia Ann Elliott, a freshman at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She was bludgeoned to death after drug dealers believed she was a snitch. Three former Fort Carson soldiers were convicted last year in her homicide, and two are serving life sentences.
"If someone's life is lost, it's extremely important to find out what happened and bring justice," Graham said. "There's peace of mind knowing who is responsible."
