Court: Wash. cop-killer's sister wrongly convicted

A state appeals court says the sister of cop-killer Maurice Clemmons was wrongly convicted.

Maurice Clemmons shot and killed four Lakewood police officers at a coffee shop in November 2009, and he was gunned down by a Seattle patrolman two days later.

His sister, LaTanya Clemmons, has been serving a five-year term for rendering criminal assistance. Prosecutors said she helped her brother's friend, Darcus Allen, evade police after he drove Clemmons to and from the coffee shop.

The News Tribune reports ( http://is.gd/SmGSAd) that in a 2-1 decision Friday, the appeals court said there wasn't enough evidence to prove that LaTanya Clemmons knew what Allen had done, and so she should not have been convicted for rendering criminal assistance.

As a nonviolent offender, LaTanya Clemmons qualified for a 50 percent reduction in her sentence after behaving well in prison. She was due to be released next month.

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Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com

The Associated Press