Suspect walked free despite long criminal history
Pierce County Sheriff's Office spokesman Ed Troyer said first-degree murder warrants have been issued against Maurice Clemmons in the officers' killings.
Authorities allege he killed Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, and officers Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42, as they worked on their laptop computers at the beginning of their shifts.
According to Troyer, the gunman turned as he was standing in line at the Forza Coffee Co. shop and fired point-blank at the officers.
Two officers were hit before they had to react. One officer was shot as he attempted to struggle with the gunman. Another officer fired off some shots toward the gunman as he fled, and hit him, Troyer said.
"We believe there was a struggle, a commotion, a fight ... that he fought the guy all the way out the door," Troyer said.
Clemmons is believed to have been in the area of the coffee shop around the time of the shooting, but Troyer declined to say what evidence might link him to the shooting.
Long criminal history
Clemmons has a long criminal history that began when he was in his teens, including a long prison sentence commuted by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee nearly a decade ago.
He was also recently charged in Washington state with assaulting a police officer, and second-degree rape of a child. Using a bail bondsman, he posted $150,000 - only $15,000 of his own money - and was released from jail last week.
Brian Wurts, president of the Lakewood Police Independent Guild, had some strong words for those responsible for letting him back on the street.
"I think this community needs to get together and figure out why these people are out," he said. "You have 5 percent of the people committing 90 percent of the crimes...we've got to hold these people accountable, we have to keep them locked up, and if they want to rehabilitate them, you can rehabilitate them, but you rehabilitate them in prison, where they are supposed to be. This guy should have never been on the street."
Investigators say they know of no motive for gunning down the officers, but court documents indicate Clemmons is delusional and mentally unstable.
"We're going to be surprised if there is a motive worth mentioning," said Troyer, who sketched out a scene of controlled and deliberate carnage that spared the employees and other customers at the coffee shop in suburban Parkland, about 35 miles south of Seattle.
"He was very versed with the weapon," Troyer said. "This wasn't something where the windows were shot up and there bullets sprayed around the place. The bullets hit their targets."
Documents related to Clemmons' pending charges in Washington state indicate a volatile personality. In one instance, he is accused of punching a sheriff's deputy in the face, The Seattle Times reported. In another, he is accused of gathering his wife and young relatives and forcing them to undress, according to a Pierce County sheriff's report.
"The whole time Clemmons kept saying things like trust him, the world is going to end soon, and that he was Jesus," the report said.
Neighbor paints brighter picture
But Jeff Horning, who lives across the street from the Clemmons family and has known them for four years, says the family has always been helpful.
"(Very) close family, they have been there when we needed them if we needed anything," Horning said, adding they've spent many holidays together. "He loaned a couple of his employees to help my kids build their above-ground pool... everything neighborly you could put down in a book -- it would be him and the family."
He said he's worried that people have already convicted Clemmons and won't let due process take its course. But either way, he still supports the family.
"Whether it's right or not, whether he's guilty or not - it won't stop me from loving the family; won't stop me from praying for him and caring about him," Horning said. "(Clemmons) is really going to need some serious counseling, his family has gone through a lot, and I don't think anyone's realized the damage it's caused to his kids and the wife, and there's no sensitivity to that because we lost some beautiful police officers that should not have happened."
Witnesses watched assault
Other neighbors said Clemmons showed a scarier side that seemed to get worse in recent months.
"That day he was throwing rocks to the police," says one neighbor. "The police came here because he was talking about Jesus Christ."
Residents of the neighborhood also said Clemmons threw rocks at cars and homes and shattered front windows. When police showed up, he allegedly punched one of the officers.
"All the police officers arrive, and they finally cornered him and brought him to the car," says one neighbor. "That's when he assaulted the police officer that I could see."
Many neighbors are curious to see how the case is all going to play out. Some of them say they've been subpoenaed to testify in the assault case.
Violent history
In 1989, Clemmons, then 17, was convicted in Little Rock for aggravated robbery. He was paroled in 2000 after Huckabee commuted a 95-year prison sentence.
Huckabee, who was criticized during his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 for granting many clemencies and commutations, cited Clemmons' youth. Clemmons later violated his parole, was returned to prison and released in 2004.
On Sunday, Huckabee issued this statement on his Web site: "Should he be found to be responsible for this horrible tragedy, it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington state."