Clemmons' alleged getaway driver unclear on why he is under arrest
TACOMA, Wash. -- If you help a criminal, you become a criminal, the Pierce County prosecutor said on Wednesday as three more people accused of assisting cop killer Maurice Clemmons faced a judge.
According to court documents, Maurice Clemmons, over Thanksgiving dinner, shared his plan to gun down police officers and school children at an intersection.
A witnessed told detectives Darcus Allen and Quianna Williams were present at the dinner table. On Wednesday, the pair appeared in court.
Thirty eight-year-old Allen, Clemmons' alleged getaway driver, told the judge he didn't know why he was in court.
"Yes, sir. I'm basically in the blind for (reasons as to why) I'm here for. So I need to talk to somebody," he said.
Allen, a convicted felon who served time in Arkansas with Clemmons, is currently being held without bail as a fugitive from Arkansas.
Prosecutors are reviewing evidence to determine what charges will be filed, including criminal assistance charges. They warned they might charge him with the more serious offense of being an accomplice to first-degree murder - a crime that could bring the same penalties as if he had shot the police himself: life without release, or execution.
Investigators said Allen was the first among a network of friends and relatives who helped Clemmons avoid police during a frantic two-day manhunt that began when Clemmons walked into the Forza coffee house Sunday morning and shot to death four Lakewood police officers.
Charging papers filed Wednesday state that Allen initially told police he had nothing to do with the crime and hadn't seen Clemmons in a long time. But he eventually acknowledged driving Clemmons to the scene, buying a cigar as he waited for him to return and then speeding away when Clemmons climbed in the passenger side with a bullet in his abdomen, the papers state.
Allen told investigators that he quickly decided he wanted no part of what Clemmons had done and bailed out of the truck at the first intersection - but investigators said that was a lie, contradicted by other evidence.
One of the officers managed to shoot Clemmons in the gut before dying, but with first aid, rides and money from his associates, Clemmons was able to survive two days on the run. He was shot and killed early Tuesday morning by a lone patrolman who encountered him on a South Seattle street.
Along with Allen, two women appeared in Pierce County Superior Court on Wednesday and were ordered held for 72 hours on $500,000 bail, bringing to six the number of people to make court appearances after being arrested for investigation of helping the killer.
"For some reason, this guy has a pretty big support system," Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said Wednesday. "That's not right. You're putting yourself up against society, the justice system and the cops."
Williams told detectives she bought peroxide, gauze and bandages to treat Clemmons' gunshot wound after he was shot in the torso in the Parkland coffee shop where four Lakewood police officers were shot and killed. She also said Clemmons did a load of laundry at her house, court documents state.
Investigators accuse 52-year-old Nelson of informing others that Clemmons had shot police officers.
"The allegations are extremely serious. It doesn't get any more serious than this," said Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist.
"They know what he did, they're offering him medical aid they're letting him stay places they're setting up rides, giving ride," said Pierce County Det. Ed Troyer.
Neither of the women spoke in court, but there was one outburst.
"I hope you die in jail!" yelled out one woman who had come to support the fallen officers.
The woman was kicked out of the courtroom.
Three other people appeared Tuesday in Pierce County Superior Court. Two brothers, Eddie Lee Davis and Douglas Edward Davis, are charged with rendering criminal assistance. A third man, Clemmons' half-brother Rickey Hinton, was ordered held pending charges. Troyer said more arrest are likely to follow.
Lindquist declined to discuss what will factor into his decision on whether to charge Allen as an accomplice to murder.
Janet Ainsworth, a criminal law professor at Seattle University School of Law, said such decisions typically hinge on the helper's state of mind and how much they do to assist or encourage the crime.
"It's whether he knew he was there to facilitate a crime," she said. "It's not just guessing participation; it's knowing participation."
According to court documents, Maurice Clemmons, over Thanksgiving dinner, shared his plan to gun down police officers and school children at an intersection.
A witnessed told detectives Darcus Allen and Quianna Williams were present at the dinner table. On Wednesday, the pair appeared in court.
Thirty eight-year-old Allen, Clemmons' alleged getaway driver, told the judge he didn't know why he was in court.
"Yes, sir. I'm basically in the blind for (reasons as to why) I'm here for. So I need to talk to somebody," he said.
Allen, a convicted felon who served time in Arkansas with Clemmons, is currently being held without bail as a fugitive from Arkansas.
Prosecutors are reviewing evidence to determine what charges will be filed, including criminal assistance charges. They warned they might charge him with the more serious offense of being an accomplice to first-degree murder - a crime that could bring the same penalties as if he had shot the police himself: life without release, or execution.
Investigators said Allen was the first among a network of friends and relatives who helped Clemmons avoid police during a frantic two-day manhunt that began when Clemmons walked into the Forza coffee house Sunday morning and shot to death four Lakewood police officers.
Charging papers filed Wednesday state that Allen initially told police he had nothing to do with the crime and hadn't seen Clemmons in a long time. But he eventually acknowledged driving Clemmons to the scene, buying a cigar as he waited for him to return and then speeding away when Clemmons climbed in the passenger side with a bullet in his abdomen, the papers state.
Allen told investigators that he quickly decided he wanted no part of what Clemmons had done and bailed out of the truck at the first intersection - but investigators said that was a lie, contradicted by other evidence.
One of the officers managed to shoot Clemmons in the gut before dying, but with first aid, rides and money from his associates, Clemmons was able to survive two days on the run. He was shot and killed early Tuesday morning by a lone patrolman who encountered him on a South Seattle street.
Along with Allen, two women appeared in Pierce County Superior Court on Wednesday and were ordered held for 72 hours on $500,000 bail, bringing to six the number of people to make court appearances after being arrested for investigation of helping the killer.
"For some reason, this guy has a pretty big support system," Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said Wednesday. "That's not right. You're putting yourself up against society, the justice system and the cops."
Williams told detectives she bought peroxide, gauze and bandages to treat Clemmons' gunshot wound after he was shot in the torso in the Parkland coffee shop where four Lakewood police officers were shot and killed. She also said Clemmons did a load of laundry at her house, court documents state.
Investigators accuse 52-year-old Nelson of informing others that Clemmons had shot police officers.
"The allegations are extremely serious. It doesn't get any more serious than this," said Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist.
"They know what he did, they're offering him medical aid they're letting him stay places they're setting up rides, giving ride," said Pierce County Det. Ed Troyer.
Neither of the women spoke in court, but there was one outburst.
"I hope you die in jail!" yelled out one woman who had come to support the fallen officers.
The woman was kicked out of the courtroom.
Three other people appeared Tuesday in Pierce County Superior Court. Two brothers, Eddie Lee Davis and Douglas Edward Davis, are charged with rendering criminal assistance. A third man, Clemmons' half-brother Rickey Hinton, was ordered held pending charges. Troyer said more arrest are likely to follow.
Lindquist declined to discuss what will factor into his decision on whether to charge Allen as an accomplice to murder.
Janet Ainsworth, a criminal law professor at Seattle University School of Law, said such decisions typically hinge on the helper's state of mind and how much they do to assist or encourage the crime.
"It's whether he knew he was there to facilitate a crime," she said. "It's not just guessing participation; it's knowing participation."