Clemmons' half-brother charged with helping killer elude police

TACOMA — The half-brother of Maurice Clemmons was charged today with helping Clemmons elude police after he killed four Lakewood officers on Sunday.

Rickey Hinton, 46, was charged in Pierce County Superior Court with three counts of first-degree rendering criminal assistance. Hinton pleaded not guilty.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Frederick Flemming ordered Hinton held on $2 million bail.

Clemmons 37, eluded police for more than two days before he was shot to death by a Seattle police officer early Tuesday. Clemmons had also suffered a gunshot wound Sunday in an exchange of gunfire with one of the Lakewood officers in a Parkland coffee shop.

Hinton is one of six relatives and friends of Clemmons who have been charged with helping Clemmons after Sunday's shootings or are facing formal charges of rendering assistance. Detective Ed Troyer, spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Office, said authorities are looking for two other individuals who they believe were involved in the effort to help Clemmons.

Hinton lived with Clemmons near the Parkland coffee shop.

According to charging documents, Hinton was contacted Sunday morning by a Pierce County sheriff's sergeant who was investigating the officers' slayings. Hinton claimed that he had not heard from Clemmons and continued to do so while spending several hours with sheriff's deputies, according to the documents.

Hinton also denied any knowledge of a shooting, prosecutors alleged.

The next day, police officers stopped a vehicle leaving an Auburn address that was associated with Clemmons.

Hinton, who was one of four people in the vehicle, acknowledged that he had been outside his house Sunday morning when Clemmons appeared, according to the charging papers. Clemmons said he had been shot, prosecutors alleged.

Hinton gave the keys to his car to one of two other men who was with Clemmons, and the two men left in the car with Clemmons. Those two men, brothers Douglas Davis and Eddie Davis, also have been charged with assisting Clemmons.

Eddie Davis said he later telephoned Hinton to tell him everything was OK, according to the charging documents.

"Eddie Davis reported that he, Douglas Davis and Hinton all knew on Sunday morning that Clemmons had shot police," the documents say.

Hinton was charged with burglary in Snohomish County in 1992 and pleaded guilty and served a prison term, court records show.

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 and smiletich@seattletimes.com