OLYMPIA, WA - The Washington State Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of the getaway driver in the November 2009 murders of four Lakewood police officers. Darcus Allen was sentenced to 420 years in prison after being convicted of four counts of Aggravated Murder for his role in the shootings. He drove the shooter, Maurice Clemmons, to and from the Parkland coffee shop where the shootings took place, according to testimony. The prosecuting attorney committed prejudicial misconduct by misstating the proper standard upon which the jury could find Allen acted with knowledge, according to the Supreme Court opinion. Because there was a substantial likelihood that the improper statements affected the jurys verdict, we hold that the prosecuting attorney committed prejudicial misconduct. We reverse the Court of Appeals and remand for a new trial, the opinion says. During sentencing, Allen told the court that he had no idea that Clemmons was going to kill the officers. Clemmons was shot and killed by a Seattle Police officer a couple of days after the four officers were killed. Five other family members or friends of Clemmons were convicted of aiding him during the manhunt. OPINION: courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/899177.pdf
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 18:05:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015