Home > Crime > Maurice Clemmons Should Have Been In Prison

Maurice Clemmons Should Have Been In Prison

November 30, 2009 at 9:02 am by Morbid

Tacoma, Washington — Four uniformed officers were at a coffee shop in Tacoma awaiting their shift to start when Maurice Clemmons walked in past the officers to the counter as if to order coffee before pulling out a gun and opening fire. Two of the officers were shot execution style, a third was shot and killed as they stood up and the fourth was shot dead while wrestling with Clemmons. Authorities identified the victims as Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39; Officer Ronald Owens, 37; Officer Tina Griswold, 40; and Officer Greg Richards, 42. Reports this morning are saying that police have surrounded a home in a Seattle neighborhood where Clemmons is supposedly holed up in. This guy is one crazy-mean son-of-a-bitch. Reading all the shit he has been accused of is like reading a McDonald’s menu. Child rape, aggravated robbery, theft, assault, murder, hell, he even thinks he is Jesus and can fly. Well why the hell isn’t this asshole in prison and not out shooting up coffee shops? Easy answer. His 95-year prison sentence was commuted in 2000 by then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Thanks, Mike!

Maurice Clemmons Should Have Been In Prison

Tags: Murder, Shooting, Washington

33 Comments

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Jury

Isn’t Mike supposed to be a staunch conservative? This sure doesn’t say much or even bode well for him.

Mike they gave him 95 years for a reason.
missycaro

How do they go about on the commuting of prison sentences? I mean what
a shit decision.
http://myspace.com/captainwowstoughday cap10wow

if he thinks he is jesus and can fly (ala super jesus), he should have been hospitalized, right? committed?
Coyote

Huckabee is considering a run for president in 2012. This isn’t going to look good on his record.
mama2gkb

don’t foreget he was just let out of Pierce County jail six days ago with 8 outstanding warrants…there is plenty of blame to go around…my sincere condolences go the families of the Police Officers. but I am sure Hukabee put the gun in his hand and told him to go do kill four police offices.
sarabei

OMG…those poor officers and their families. WHY do they let these people back out on the streets? He should never have gotten off with a 95 year sentence facing him!!!
stacy56253

He also happens to be out on bail for Rape of a Child in the 2nd degree. His bail was $150,000. He was also looking at the possibility of life in prison due to being a persistant offender. He should not have been out on bail to say the least.
Jury

His bail was $150,000.

Who in their right mind would post bond for this guy to get out with all the crimes he has committed? WHO?
E Diddy

Woah, Huckabee has got to be hating life right now. Maybe this will serve as a warning to the rest of the countries governors. Instead of locking up people for drug related issues, maybe it’s time to concentrate on the peeps that murder, rape, and rob people. You know, real criminals. I’ll bet he’s a Muslim
http://www.dreamindemon.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=12 Athena

It’s been open season on cops here in Western Washington lately. On Halloween night, two officers were shot, one killed, while they sat in their patrol car on the side of the road. The surviving officer, Britt Sweeney, had been with the squad a mere seven months. Now this? It’s absolutely inexcusable and it’s put police – and the community – understandably on edge. And to know that this was made possible by that hick fucking governor, Huckabee? Disgusting.
Kdogg

I’m disguisted by this on more than one level. This dirtbag never should have been let out of prison.Huckabee let this POS and others like out, but rallies against people like my cousin and state that they’re a menace to children and society. My cousin is gay but isn’t a child raping murderer. Sleep well Mike, you let a man who went on to murder four officers who protected and served the public out but at least you stopped those evil homosexuals.
maureen

Well, Huckabee has his Willie Horton. He’ll never be the Republican nominee for president.
Abroad

On BBC’s website they said there had been a standoff at Clemmons’ house and that he might have been killed in the shooting?

Guess we’ll never know whether it was personal or whether he was “just” after some LE officers and didn’t much care which ones he got……

So sad. Policemen face enough dangerous situations in their jobs. One would assume the coffee shop seemed like a break to them. Doesn’t sound like they had much warning at all.
http://www.dreamindemon.com Jaded

On BBC’s website they said there had been a standoff at Clemmons’ house and that he might have been killed in the shooting?

A recent news update just stated that he wasn’t in the home – he’s still on the loose.
Abroad

Crikey! Seems they jumped the gun a bit there. So there is still a chance that we might hear him offer some reason for what he did. Although with this guy’s rap sheet, one can probably put it down to incurable meanness…..
http://www.dreamindemon.com Jaded

I’m not sure this guy will be taken in alive. I have heard, and I’m looking for some links right now to back it up, that he was heard making threats prior to the shooting. It’s my understanding that a couple others have been arrested because they were aware of the threats but did nothing until after the officers had been shot.
http://www.dreamindemon.com Jaded

Authorities believe Clemmons might have been wounded at the coffee shop by one of officers. Troyer said interviews with others detained in the investigation confirmed that theory, saying the suspect had been shot in the “trunk.” Police think he may be treating his wounds by himself or with the help of others.

Clemmons is believed to have been in the Parkland area around the time of the shooting, but Troyer declined to say what evidence might link him to the shootings. Troyer did confirm Clemmons is their suspect in the officer shootings. Other people believed to have helped Clemmons were in police custody, but police are not looking for any other suspects.
[...]
According to The Seattle Times, Clemmons lives in Tacoma where he runs a landscaping and power-washing business out of his house. Clemmons has an extensive violent criminal history from Arkansas and has had at least two confrontations with police earlier this year. He was recently charged in Washington state with assaulting a police officer, and with second-degree rape of a child. Using a bail bondsman, he posted $150,000 — only $15,000 of his own money — and was released from jail last week.

Documents related to the pending charges in Washington state indicate an unstable and volatile personality. In one instance, he is accused of punching a sheriff’s deputy in the face, The Seattle Times reported. Clemmons’ sister reportedly told sheriff’s deputies in May that Clemmons “was not in his right mind.” In another, he is accused of gathering his wife and young relatives and forcing them to undress, according to a Pierce County sheriff’s report.

“The whole time Clemmons kept saying things like trust him, the world is going to end soon, and that he was Jesus,” the report said.

Link
Darsa

Can someone please tell me what it means to be shot “execution style”? I know I sound like a dub to be asking, but I just don’t know!

God bless these 4 officers, and I hope like crazy they find that guy soon.
http://www.dreamindemon.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=12 Athena

It generally means being shot in the back of the head at point-blank range, Darsa.
mr.darcy

Okay…really, WTF? Why the hell is this asshole, who had a prior, albeit “commuted” prison sentence of 95 years allowed to even make bail? WTFF?
yinzer

All Judges, Governors, etc, that free criminals should be held accountable for any and ALL actions made by them, maybe then they would not be so quick to free them !
Huckabee should be held accountable ! Huckabee needs to go to the slammer for life, or death !
Boughtthefarm

Huckabee shouldn’t take the entire blame for this. There are many others after him that dropped the ball. That said, our justice system needs a complete overhaul!
http://www.dreamindemon.com Jaded

The man suspected of gunning down four police officers in a suburban coffee shop was shot and killed by a lone Seattle patrol officer investigating a stolen car early Tuesday, a sheriff’s spokesman said. Four other people were arrested for allegedly helping the suspect elude authorities during a massive two-day manhunt.

A Seattle police officer came across the stolen car in a working-class south Seattle neighborhood about 2:45 a.m., Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel said. The officer approached the car, then detected movement behind him, recognized the suspect Maurice Clemmons and ordered him to show his hands and stop.

“He wouldn’t stop,” Pugel said. “The officer fired several rounds, took the person into custody.”

Clemmons had a serious gunshot wound from one of the four officers killed in the coffee-shop shooting. He has since died from his injuries, Pugel said. Clemmons was carrying a handgun that had belonged one of the slain officers, Pugel said.

Police planned to arrest more people who helped Clemmons.

“We expect to have maybe six or seven people in custody by the day’s end,” said Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County sheriff. “Some are friends, some are acquaintances, some are partners in crime, some are relatives. Now they’re all partners in crime.”

Link
http://myspace.com/captainwowstoughday cap10wow

not quite a happy ending, but at least he’s off the streets.
CassieMomma

I knew it wouldn’t take too long to find him. How sad for the families of the officers. It’s been stated between the 4 of them they had 9 children. So senseless.
http://www.dreamindemon.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=12 Athena

In Huckabee’s defense, a board recommended the commutation to him and the judge presiding over the case agreed. Clemmons was only 16 when he committed the crime he was put away for. The vast majority of children who are incarcerated and released do NOT go on to murder anyone.

As for bail: Courts are legally bound to set a bail appropriate to the crime unless they have specific reason to believe the defendant is a flight risk or especially violent. The things Clemmons was charged with gave the court no reason to withhold bail.

The problem here is that Clemmons was crazy. On the way into work this morning, I was listening to a local radio station, and they were telling of a time that a woman called police because, as she was in her car, Clemmons started yelling at her, asking if God was in her heart. She took off, understandably, and he tossed a brick through her rear windshield. Dude was clearly off his rocker.

Another thing worth noting is that the 2nd degree child rape charge stems from an incident with his 12 year old step daughter. Also, one of the people detained is reported to be his get-away driver. Yep… someone was in on his plan from the beginning.

Lastly, as I mentioned earlier, an officer was shot and killed Halloween night. The city rallied around his family, and his family has generously closed his memorial fund and requested that all further donations be made to the families of these four officers. Their statement was actually pretty touching.
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

In Huckabee’s defense, a board recommended the commutation to him and the judge presiding over the case agreed.

Problem for Huckabee is that this is the second high-profile crime that was committed by someone he set free. the last one was a rapist who went on to murder and rape someone else after he got out.
http://www.dreamindemon.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=12 Athena

Sure, and he did take responsibility publically for Clemmons release. I just wanted to make it clear to people that, while he is ultimately responsible, he wouldn’t have commuted the sentence unless these other individuals recommended it.

What I want to know is, what kind of information was the board looking at to make this recommendation? Huckabee made a statement previously that this was a failure on the parts of both Arkansas and Washington. I disagree. It seems like it was just Arkansas that fucked up.
kacee75

Huckabee was on Bill O’Reilly last nite and gave many details on how he came to his decision. More specifically the prosecution failed to contact his office and advise him if this particular defendant should be elgible for commutation. AND the judge on the case wrote a letter on behalf of the defendant. The defendant supposedly had turned his life around in prison, blah, blah, blah….. When he violated his parole, the Arkansas prosecutor (again) failed to file the appropriate paperwork to have his parole revoked, etc… Yea Arkansas screwed up, royally.

The producers with Bill O’Reilly had contacted the TWO judges who approved his bail in Washington state. Neither of them contacted the show to explain their actions and how they came up with the bail amount.

In some states they have a formula on setting bail. They look at what the defendant does for a living, what type of charges they have been charged with, if they are a flight risk, etc…

I’m going to speculate that Mr. Clemmons probably was elgible for a public defender, so the judge figured that 15,000 would be just as effective as 150,000 (or a million). Typically a defendant would have to provide 10% to a bail bondsman in order to get released. So if he was elgible for a public defender (ie indigant defendant) the judge thought “oh hell, this guy can’t even rub two brain cells to make a spark much less obtaining $1500 and collateral to cover the bond” Plus the judges are probably paranoid about setting the bail TOO high and being called discrimnatory, blah, blah, blah.

And no, it doesn’t look good for Huckabee. And he’s one of the few candidates that actually sounds sane!

When a governor is going to commute a sentence, they should seek out those answers. Just because a prosecutor doesn’t file the appropriate paperwork, doesn’t mean you HAVE to make a decision. I have a lot of respect for Huckabee going on the record to educate the public on how he made his decision. That does say a lot about his character.

I also think that he can redeem himself (in his own heart) by advoating change in our system. There has to be a better way. Maybe certain crimes there shouldn’t be a set bail amount (i.e. murder, rape, child rape, armed robbery).

I don’t have the answers, but it’s obvious there are many holes in our system.
stacy56253

He was looking at a life sentence for being a persistant offender. That alone should have been enough to deny bail. What is to stop someone from doing something like this if they have nothing to lose?
MadeaBecBec

Wayne DuMond is the rapist that was released/paroled. (He was also castrated for the rape, but noone was ever charged.) Then, Arkansas Governor Tucker (in 1992) commuted DuMonds sentence from life plus 20 years to 39 years, allowing DuMond to be eligible for parole! The Parole Board at that time denied DuMond parole. Then in 1996, Governor Huckabee received a recommendation to commute DuMonds sentence to time served, but Huckabee wanted DuMond to have supervision, to be paroled, so Huckabee asked the Parole Board to reconsider, they did and in 1997 granted DuMond parole. He was not released until 1999, because he didn’t have a parole plan in place in 1997, Missouri granted Dumond to be paroled there. Dumond was arrested in 2001 for another rape, this time with murder, convicted in 2003. He died of cancer in his prison cell on September 1,2005.

There was no rape charge against Clemmons in Arkansas.

Good story, about the Officers killed, here: http://www.thebewstribune.com/topstories/story/975658.html

For some reason, the link button doesn’t work for me or I would have used it!
http://www.dreamindemon.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=12 Athena

It’s amazing to me how many people helped this sick fuck after his little murder spree. So far, 6 family members and friends of Clemmons have been arrested for their various roles in assisting him, and they anticipate more arrests will be made.

So what if you don’t like cops and are happy he knocked a few off. The man is accused of RAPING his 12 year old step-daughter. How do you justify helping a man like this?
http://www.dreamindemon.com Jaded

According to court documents, Maurice Clemmons, over Thanksgiving dinner, shared his plan to gun down police officers and school children at an intersection.

A witnessed told detectives Darcus Allen and Quianna Williams were present at the dinner table. On Wednesday, the pair appeared in court.

Thirty eight-year-old Allen, Clemmons’ alleged getaway driver, told the judge he didn’t know why he was in court.

“Yes, sir. I’m basically in the blind for (reasons as to why) I’m here for. So I need to talk to somebody,” he said.

Allen, a convicted felon who served time in Arkansas with Clemmons, is currently being held without bail as a fugitive from Arkansas.

Prosecutors are reviewing evidence to determine what charges will be filed, including criminal assistance charges. They warned they might charge him with the more serious offense of being an accomplice to first-degree murder – a crime that could bring the same penalties as if he had shot the police himself: life without release, or execution.

Investigators said Allen was the first among a network of friends and relatives who helped Clemmons avoid police during a frantic two-day manhunt that began when Clemmons walked into the Forza coffee house Sunday morning and shot to death four Lakewood police officers.

Charging papers filed Wednesday state that Allen initially told police he had nothing to do with the crime and hadn’t seen Clemmons in a long time. But he eventually acknowledged driving Clemmons to the scene, buying a cigar as he waited for him to return and then speeding away when Clemmons climbed in the passenger side with a bullet in his abdomen, the papers state.

Allen told investigators that he quickly decided he wanted no part of what Clemmons had done and bailed out of the truck at the first intersection – but investigators said that was a lie, contradicted by other evidence.

Link