New aggravated murder charges filed against suspected driver in police killings in Wash. state

Charges filed in Lakewood, Wash., police killings

TACOMA, Wash. — The man accused of being the getaway driver in the Lakewood police killings has been charged with aggravated first-degree murder.

Four counts were filed Tuesday against 38-year-old Darcus Allen. He has pleaded not guilty. A Pierce County Superior Court judge has ordered Allen be held without bail.

The prosecution has until April 1 to decide whether to seek the death penalty. The only other penalty for aggravated murder in Washington is life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors say Allen was a friend of Maurice Clemmons and drove him to a coffee shop on Nov. 29 where four officers were gunned down that morning. Clemmons was killed two days later in a confrontation with a Seattle police officer.

Six friends or relatives of Clemmons have been charged with rendering criminal assistance.