Willie Clark's associates sort of admit to maybe lying to the grand jury about the case

Kataina "Markie" Jackson-Keeling.

Two alleged associates of Willie Clark, who's currently serving a life sentence plus 1,152 years for murdering Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams in 2007, admitted in court yesterday that they were in contempt when they refused to testify at Clark's trial earlier this year. Kataina "Markie" Jackson-Keeling, 21, and Mario Anderson, 22, also pleaded guilty to a charge each of accessory to perjury. The men were accused of lying to the grand jury when questioned about their involvement in the shooting.

Prosecutors say Jackson-Keeling and Anderson were riding with Clark and another man, Daniel "PT" Harris, in a white Chevy Tahoe in the early hours of New Year's Day 2007 when Clark shot a spray of bullets out the window of the Tahoe into a white Hummer limo carrying Williams and sixteen others. One of the bullets hit Williams in the neck and he died almost instantly.

But when questioned about that night in front of the grand jury, Jackson-Keeling and Anderson both said they knew nothing about the shooting.

Mario Anderson.

Called as witnesses at Clark's trial, they refused to testify several times, opting to spend time in jail instead.

The men were originally charged with two counts of perjury each and one count of attempting to influence a public servant. It's unclear whether, in taking the plea deals yesterday, the men also admitted lying to the grand jury -- and possibly having some involvement in the shooting.

Prosecutor Tim Twining, who prosecuted Clark for the murder, was not available to discuss the deals today. We plan to catch up with him in the coming days and will post a blog entry explaining the deals' implications in-depth.

The other man allegedly in the Tahoe when Clark shot Williams did testify at trial and was granted immunity in exchange. To read about his testimony -- and why it might not have been completely believable -- check out our feature, "The Evidence That Put Willie Clark Away."

Jackson-Keeling and Anderson are out on bond and will be sentenced to jail on June 7.