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2009 Lakewood Shooting

SOLVED2009Forza Coffee Company (now Blue Steele Coffee), 11401 Steele Street #108 South, Parkland, Pierce County, Washington3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · crimes against children · sexual violence — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

On the morning of November 29, 2009, four Lakewood, Washington police officers — Sergeant Mark Renninger and Officers Tina Griswold, Ronald Owens, and Greg Richards — were fatally shot while working on laptops before their shift at a Forza Coffee Company shop in the Parkland area of Pierce County, near Tacoma. The gunman, later identified as Maurice Clemmons, entered the shop and opened fire without warning. Griswold and Renninger were shot in the head and killed instantly while seated; Owens was fatally shot in the neck as he tried to stand and draw his weapon; Richards was shot in the head but managed to fire back before dying, wounding Clemmons in the abdomen. Clemmons stole Richards' service weapon and fled in a white pickup truck driven by an accomplice, Darcus Allen.

Investigators concluded the officers were not individually targeted and that the attack was directed at police in general. A two-day, multi-agency manhunt followed, involving searches across Seattle, Tacoma, the University of Washington campus, and the Snoqualmie Pass area, along with a twelve-hour SWAT standoff at a Seattle home where Clemmons was believed to be hiding but was not found. Early on December 1, 2009, Seattle Police Officer Benjamin L. Kelly encountered a man matching Clemmons' description near a stolen, disabled vehicle in the Rainier Valley neighborhood. When Clemmons reportedly moved toward his waist and fled after being ordered to stop, Kelly shot him; Clemmons died at the scene. He was found carrying the service weapon taken from Officer Richards and had a self-treated gunshot wound from the coffee shop shooting.

Before the shooting, Clemmons had an extensive criminal history in Arkansas and Washington, including a 108-year Arkansas sentence that was commuted in 2000 by then-Governor Mike Huckabee, making him immediately parole-eligible. He was later charged in Washington with assaulting officers and second-degree rape of a child, and was released on bail about a week before the Lakewood shooting. Huckabee faced significant political criticism over the commutation, particularly during his political career.

Six people connected to Clemmons were charged with providing assistance before and after the shooting, such as transportation, money, and treating his wound. Several were convicted between 2010 and 2011, including Darcus Allen, who was convicted of murder as the getaway driver and sentenced to 420 years in prison. However, the Washington Supreme Court reversed most of these convictions in 2013–2015 due to findings of prosecutorial misconduct by the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office. Allen was retried multiple times; after a mistrial in 2022, he pleaded guilty in April 2023 to conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and was released, having already served over 13 years. A public memorial service for the four officers was held on December 8, 2009, at the Tacoma Dome, attended by more than 20,000 people from law enforcement and emergency services. In 2012, a Lakewood police officer was found to have stolen from the officers' memorial fund.

Key facts

Victims
Greg Richards, Mark Renninger, Tina Griswold, Ronald Owens
Date
2009
Location
Forza Coffee Company (now Blue Steele Coffee), 11401 Steele Street #108 South, Parkland, Pierce County, Washington
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2009-11-29

    Maurice Clemmons enters the Forza coffee shop in Parkland, Washington, and fatally shoots four Lakewood police officers before fleeing, wounded, with an accomplice.

  2. 2009-11-30

    A twelve-hour SWAT standoff occurs at a Seattle home where Clemmons was believed to be hiding; he is not found there.

  3. 2009-12-01

    Seattle Police Officer Benjamin L. Kelly shoots and kills Maurice Clemmons in south Seattle after he flees a traffic stop near a stolen vehicle.

  4. 2009-12-02

    Six individuals are arrested and charged with providing assistance to Clemmons before and after the shooting.

  5. 2009-12-08

    A public memorial service for the four slain officers is held at the Tacoma Dome.

  6. 2010-06

    Clemmons' sister is sentenced to five years in prison for acting as a getaway driver.

  7. 2010-12

    Three additional accomplices are convicted of rendering criminal assistance.

  8. 2011-01-14

    Pierce County Superior Court sentences accomplices Eddie Lee Davis, Douglas Edward Davis, and Letrecia Nelson to state prison terms.

  9. 2011-05

    Darcus Allen is convicted of four counts of murder as the getaway driver.

  10. 2011-06

    Darcus Allen is sentenced to 420 years in prison.

  11. 2012-03

    Lakewood police officer Skeeter Timothy Manos pleads guilty to stealing from the officers' memorial fund.

  12. 2013

    The Washington Supreme Court begins reversing several accomplice convictions, citing prosecutorial misconduct.

  13. 2015-01

    The Washington Supreme Court overturns Darcus Allen's conviction and orders a new trial.

  14. 2022-11-10

    A mistrial is declared in Darcus Allen's retrial after the jury cannot reach a verdict.

  15. 2023-04

    Darcus Allen pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and is immediately released, having already served over 13 years.

Best coverage

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People

  • Douglas Edward Davis

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of rendering criminal assistance; sentenced to 7 years, 6 months; conviction later reversed on appeal

    citation on file

  • Benjamin L. Kelly

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Seattle Police officer who shot and killed Maurice Clemmons on December 1, 2009

    citation on file

  • Greg Richards

    VICTIM

    Officer, Lakewood Police Department; fatally shot in the head

    citation on file

  • Mark Renninger

    VICTIM

    Sergeant, Lakewood Police Department; fatally shot in the head

    citation on file

  • Maurice Clemmons

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Identified as the shooter; killed by Seattle police before facing trial, so not legally convicted

    citation on file

  • Eddie Lee Davis

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of rendering criminal assistance; sentenced to 10 years, 5 months; conviction later reversed on appeal

    citation on file

  • Darcus Allen

    CONVICTED

    Convicted in 2011 of four counts of murder as getaway driver; conviction later overturned; pleaded guilty in 2023 to conspiracy to commit second-degree murder

    citation on file

  • Letrecia Nelson

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of rendering criminal assistance; sentenced to 6 years, 2 months; conviction later reversed on appeal

    citation on file

  • Tina Griswold

    VICTIM

    Officer, Lakewood Police Department; fatally shot in the head

    citation on file

  • Ronald Owens

    VICTIM

    Officer, Lakewood Police Department; fatally shot in the neck

    citation on file

Places

Forza Coffee Company (now Blue Steele Coffee), 11401 Steele Street #108 South, Parkland, Pierce County, Washington

47.1527, -122.4674

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Four Lakewood, Washington police officers were fatally shot in an ambush at a coffee shop on November 29, 2009; the gunman, Maurice Clemmons, was killed by police two days later, and several accomplices were later convicted of aiding his escape, though most of those convictions were reversed on appeal.
Where did the shooting happen?
Forza Coffee Company (now Blue Steele Coffee), 11401 Steele Street #108 South, Parkland, Pierce County, Washington.
Who was convicted?
Douglas Edward Davis (Convicted of rendering criminal assistance; sentenced to 7 years, 6 months; conviction later reversed on appeal), Eddie Lee Davis (Convicted of rendering criminal assistance; sentenced to 10 years, 5 months; conviction later reversed on appeal), Darcus Allen (Convicted in 2011 of four counts of murder as getaway driver; conviction later overturned; pleaded guilty in 2023 to conspiracy to commit second-degree murder), and Letrecia Nelson (Convicted of rendering criminal assistance; sentenced to 6 years, 2 months; conviction later reversed on appeal).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.

Sources

  1. 2009 Lakewood shootingwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage of Washington police shootingnews · CNN · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — Political Hotsheetnews · CBS News · 2026-07-07
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