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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Henrikson held without bail, claims ties to organized crime

By Jenny Michael The Bismarck Tribune
The man implicated in the shooting death of a Spokane businessman has been ordered held without bail pending trial on a federal weapons charge. James Henrikson, 34, has been charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He has been in custody of the U.S. marshals since his arrest Jan. 18 and is being held at the Heart of America Correctional & Treatment Center in Rugby, N.D. U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Miller on Tuesday ordered Henrikson held in jail after listening to testimony from U.S. Postal Inspector Thomas Irvin, who has been involved in a federal investigation of Henrikson’s business dealings since June. Henrikson was a business associate of Doug Carlile, a Spokane man killed by an armed intruder in his home on Dec. 15. Henrikson has not been charged in connection with Carlile’s shooting, though his name is cited frequently in the court documents charging Timothy Suckow, 50, with first-degree murder. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Delorme requested Henrikson continue to be held, but public defender William Schmidt said Henrikson should be in a halfway house instead. He said Henrikson has been charged in the weapons matter only and that much of Irvin’s testimony was based on investigations done by other agents and agencies. Miller said he did not draw any conclusions about whether Henrikson was involved in the December death of Carlile or another man’s disappearance in making his decision. Authorities have suggested Henrikson may have hired Suckow to shoot Carlile. Irvin testified he has investigated the business dealings of Henrikson and his wife, Sarah Creveling. The investigation also involves the IRS and Department Homeland Security and has produced allegations of fraud and money laundering. Irvin said Henrikson threatened several people. Carlile’s son has said his father warned him that if anything happened to him, Henrikson was to blame. Irvin said threats also have been made against Creveling, who he said fears for her safety, and against Tex Hall, the chairman of the MHA Nation affiliated tribes. Henrikson also has been tied to the disappearance of K.C. Clarke, who worked as one of Henrikson’s operations managers. Clarke hasn’t been seen since February 2012, and his roommate said Clarke told him that if anything happened to him Henrikson should be suspected. Irvin said Henrikson did not immediately comply with officers’ commands at the time of his arrest and would not remove his hand from his pocket. Irvin said officers believed, after interviews with Henrikson, that he had contemplated attempting “suicide by cop.” Henrikson also told the officers during the post-arrest interview that he had connections to organized crime in California.
Spokesman-Review staff writer Kip Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.