Getaway driver for man who killed 4 Lakewood cops released from jail after plea agreement
PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. - Darcus Allen, the getaway driver for a man who killed four Lakewood Police officers more than a decade ago, was released with time served after pleading guilty to second-degree conspiracy to commit murder.
The plea agreement comes after a mistrial was declared for a second time in February when jurors again could not reach a unanimous verdict.
Darcus Allen appears in court on April 11, 2023. (FOX 13 Seattle)
On Tuesday, Allen took a plea agreement from the state and a judge sentenced him to the maximum of 120 months, or ten years in prison. Because of time served, Allen was being processed later that night and was expected to be released from jail in a few hours.
The decision to release Allen outraged family members of the murdered officers.
"Your actions have affected a lot of people in this community," a wife of one of the murdered officers said in court. "You might not have pulled the trigger, but you did make it possible for Maurice Clemmons to murder my husband and three other officers. And I don't believe in forgiveness. There is no such thing as closure, but I do believe in karma."
"The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind. I know not all family members feel this way, but I'm ok and at peace with everything. The legal system is a complicated mess and this is what needed to happen. It was extremely important to me to have him plead guilty to a felony charge which will give him his second strike. I believe in karma and it's a matter of time until it catches up to him," said Kim Renninger, the widow of Sgt. Mark Renninger.
Following the plea agreement, Pierce County Prosecutor Mary Robnett released the following statement.
"Two jury trials against Darcus Allen in recent months both resulted in hung juries. It has become apparent that it will be difficult for any jury to reach a unanimous verdict in this case.
"Today Mr. Allen pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Murder in the Second Degree. This offer was made in consultation with the families of the four slain Lakewood officers. It is not the outcome we hoped for, but Mr. Allen did agree that there is a factual basis for his guilty plea.
"This plea concludes a very long-running case. Our thoughts today are with Tina Griswold, Ronald Owens, Mark Renninger, Greg Richards and their loved ones."
Allen was released from jail at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Four Lakewood Police officers ambushed
On Nov. 29, 2009, Maurice Clemmons entered a coffee shop in Lakewood and shot and killed four police officers. Clemmons specifically targeted the officers. Allen drove the pickup truck that Clemmons rode in to escape the scene.
Allen claimed that he did not know what Clemmons' plans were before he drove him to and from the coffee shop that day. He also said he didn't realize anything had happened until they were a few blocks away and saw that Clemmons was wounded.
Clemmons was later shot and killed by a Seattle police officer after a two-day manhunt.
A jury convicted Allen of murder as an accomplice in 2011. The jury cleared him of the aggravating factors: that he knew the victims would be police officers and that there were multiple victims or that the killings were planned.
The state Supreme Court overturned the conviction, saying a prosecutor had committed misconduct by misstating the definition of an "accomplice" during closing arguments.
Mistrials have been declared in Allen's case for four counts of first-degree murder in November 2022 and February 2023.
A new trial date had been set for April 20, 2023 prior to the plea agreement being reached.