When I originally set out to write about the murders of Venus Montoya and Brandaline Rose DuVall more than twenty years ago, I had no idea the various paths the tale would take. I thought it was basically a story about the brutality and downfall of a small but violent Denver street gang, the Deuce-Seven Bloods. What made it different from other gang stories was that instead of shooting at rivals, some members had been accused of killing two … [Read more...]

“A little before midnight on May 30, 1997, fourteen-year-old Brandy Duvall waited at a bus stop in the Denver area for a ride back to her grandparents' home after spending the evening at a friend’s home. She was wearing a bright-red Chicago Bulls jersey bearing the number of her favorite player, Michael Jordan. It was the shirt, a favorite of the Bloods gang, that attracted the five young gang members in the car that circled the … [Read more...]