TACOMA, Wash. — The man accused of being the getaway driver for Maurice Clemmons, who killed four Lakewood police officers in 2009, is no longer in custody after receiving a plea deal.
Darcus Allen pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in the second degree. He spent about 13 years and four months in custody, according to the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
The offer for Allen followed two trials that ended in hung juries and was made in consultation with the families of the four officers, according to the attorney's office.
In a statement, the attorney's office said it is "apparent that it will be difficult for any jury to reach a unanimous verdict in this case."
The prosecuting attorney's office added that it was "not the outcome we hoped for, but Mr. Allen did agree that there is a factual basis for his guilty plea."
Allen drove Maurice Clemmons to and from the coffee shop in Parkland where Clemmons shot and killed Lakewood Sgt. Mark Renninger and officers Greg Richards, Tina Griswold and Ronald Owens as they sat preparing for their Sunday morning shift in 2009.
Allen was originally charged and convicted of four counts of first-degree murder in 2011. However, a jury acquitted him of four "capital punishment aggravators," alleging that Allen knew the victims would be police officers and that there were multiple victims or that the killings were planned. Those factors would have led to an automatic sentence of life in prison.
The Washington State Supreme Court vacated Allen's murder convictions in 2015 after finding the prosecutor at his trial made "improper statements" during the closing argument. In a 2018 decision, the state Supreme Court also held that Allen could not be retried on the capital punishment aggravators because he was previously acquitted of them.
Allen was retried on four counts of first-degree murder related to his role in the killings beginning in October of 2022. That trial ended in a hung jury in November.
Allen and his attorney tried to have the new charges dismissed, claiming they would violate the double jeopardy clause, however, the motion was rejected by the state trial court and the court of appeals, and the state Supreme Court declined to review the case. A petition filed for federal habeas relief was also dismissed.
Allen's second retrial ended in a hung jury in February after a judge declared a mistrial.
A new trial was scheduled to start in April.
The Lakewood Police Department issued the following statement after Allen's plea deal was announced:
"The Lakewood Police Department is grateful that Darcus Allen is finally pleading guilty for the murders of Sgt. Mark Renninger, Ofc. Tina Griswold, Ofc. Ronnie Owens, and Ofc. Greg Richards.
It has been a long, hard, and difficult path, but one where we persevered in order to hold those accountable for the heinous and brutal murders of our Police Officers. This crime deeply impacted the families, our Department, as well as our entire community. This only further underscores the importance of this verdict. The department wishes to express gratitude to the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for their hard work and diligence in this trial. We have now had two trials and 13 years of appeals.
Throughout it all, their office remained steadfast in their efforts to achieve justice and accountability for the murders of our four officers. As we move forward now, we will continue to serve our community with strength, honor, and dignity.
We will continue to support the families of our Fallen Four, as well as members of our Department and community who continue to be impacted by the loss of our Officers. They will never be forgotten."