Court overturns convictions of Maurice Clemmons' sister

TACOMA, Wash. — A state appeals court has overturned the convictions of cop-killer Maurice Clemmons' sister, who is serving a five-year prison sentence she received for helping her brother's getaway driver after the massacre of four Lakewood police officers in November 2009, the Tacoma News Tribune reported.

LaTanya Clemmons was scheduled to get out of prison next month after serving two years of her sentence.

She had appealed her convictions on two counts of first-degree rendering criminal assistance with aggravating factors.

Among other things, she contended prosecutors had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she helped her brother's friend, Dorcus Allen, evade police after he gave Maurice Clemmons a ride to and from a Parkland coffee shop where Clemmons gunned down Sgt. Mark Renninger and officers Tina Griswold, Greg Richards and Ronald Owens.

Prosecutors were required to prove LaTana Clemmons knew Allen had committed aggravated first-degree murder, or knew that police were seeking him for aggravated first-degree murder.

In a 2-1 decision released Friday, the Division 2 Court of Appeals held that prosecutors had not presented sufficient evidence to support either allegation at her trial in 2010. Given that, the rendering charge also was not adequately supported and should be overturned, the justices said.

In a statement, Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said he will appeal based on "major flaws" in the majority opinion.

Lindquist said he agrees with the dissenting judge who argued that the evidence "amply supports" the jury's decision.

"We will appeal this to the Washington Supreme Court. I’m confident the jury's verdict will be upheld by the higher court and justice will prevail," Lindquist said.

KIRO