Federal prosecutors will not seek death penalty in Doug Carlile murder

Federal prosecutors said Tuesday they will not seek the death penalty for five of the six men implicated in the December 2013 death of South Hill resident Doug Carlile. James Henrikson, Timothy Suckow, Robert Delao, Lazaro Pesina and Robby Wahrer all face federal charges that allow for capital punishment in Carlile’s death. A sixth man, Todd Bates, faces murder-for-hire and heroin distribution criminal charges carrying a sentencing minimum of 10 years, but was not eligible for the death penalty. Carlile, 63, was found shot to death by police in his South Hill home Dec. 15, 2013. His wife said the couple returned home from church to find an armed intruder in their kitchen. The man, who police believe is Suckow based on DNA collected from a glove found outside the home, shot and killed Carlile, then fled in a white van, according to investigators. A lengthy local and federal investigation led police to Henrikson, who had business dealings with Carlile and told police shortly after his death the 63-year-old owed him close to $2 million in oil speculation deals tied to North Dakota tribal lands. Henrikson has denied involvement in the killing, as have the other men implicated in the alleged murder-for-hire plot. Henrikson also faces charges in the death of Kristopher “K.C.” Clarke, one of his former employees who disappeared in 2012. Clarke’s body has not been found. U.S. Assistant Attorney Aine Ahmed announced the death penalty decision at a pretrial hearing in a Spokane federal courtroom Tuesday. The six men are scheduled to go to trial together in July, but Henrikson’s attorney has requested that date be pushed back to December. U.S. District Court Judge Salvador Mendoza, Jr., has not yet ruled on that request.