Nov.
8th
UPDATED: Trial under way for four Clemmons’ associates
UPDATE: Deputy prosecutor Stephen Penner this morning reminded a Pierce County jury it was nearly a year ago that a gunman shot four Lakewood police officers to death – an occasion he said was of a kind where people remembered where they were when they heard the news.
Penner reminded jurors of the fear that permeated the community as the shooter, Maurice Clemmons, remained on the loose for more than 40 hours after the shooting before being killed by a Seattle police officer.
He also reminded them that many people were in disbelief when they learned someone was helping Clemmons as he fled an army of law enforcement officers intent on tracking him down.
“We all wondered who would help this guy?” Penner said during his opening statement in the trial of four associates and relatives accused of aiding Clemmons in the aftermath of the massacre inside the Parkland Forza coffee shop.
“The answer is these defendants.”
Prosecutors have charged Clemmons’ half brother, Rickey Hinton, 47; Eddie Lee Davis, 21; Douglas Edward Davis, 23; and Letrecia Nelson, 53; with various counts of first-degree rendering criminal assistance for allegedly helping Clemmons after the Nov. 29 shooting. The Davises and Nelson also face weapons charges.
They’ve all pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors contend the four knew Clemmons had shot Sgt. Mark Renninger and officers Tina Griswold, Gregory Richards and Ronald Owens on Nov. 29 but helped him anyway.
Penner said Nelson, Clemmons’ aunt, told her daughter, “It ain’t right, but it’s family.”
Attorneys for Hinton and Douglas Davis said during their opening statements it’s wrong to portray their clients as cop haters who intended to delay Clemmons’ capture.