Police drop charge against man accused of harbouring Rodney Clavell, ordered to pay legal costs Robert Patrick Cooke outside court during an earlier appearance. POLICE have been ordered to pay legal costs for a man accused of harbouring fugitive Rodney Clavell after they dropped a criminal charge against him. Robert Patrick Cooke, 63, was charged with one count of assisting a person to remain at large after police alleged he helped Clavell avoid an intensive manhunt in June this year. Clavell, 46, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a King William St massage parlour, after a 13-hour siege which shut down parts of the city. Cooke faced Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday, when police prosecutors officially withdrew the charge. Cooke, who has previously served a prison sentence for manslaughter, was granted bail in August. Rodney Ian Clavell committed suicide at the end of a siege that locked down King William St in June. During the bail application, his lawyer Harry Hills said police had tracked his client and Clavell for two days before the dramatic and fatal siege. Mr Hills told the court police had "ample time" to arrest Clavell while he was under surveillance, which he said was "at odds" with the charge against Cooke. "The police themselves allowed them both to move around Adelaide freely on the two days in question," Mr Hills said. In September 2003, Cooke ran down and killed his best mate Gregory Keam in Norwood. STAR Group officers walk across King William St during the siege. Cooke was trying to hit another man he had been involved in a dispute with, but accidentally hit and killed Mr Keam. After a murder trial, Cooke was found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter and released on parole after serving almost two and a half years behind bars. Magistrate Susan O'Connor ordered SA Police to pay Cooke $1265 as compensation for his legal costs. Gallery: The Rodney Clavell siege Originally published as Clavell harbouring charges dropped by police