Suspects in oilfield-related killings expected to plead guilty

The man federal investigators say ordered the killing of two North Dakota oilfield associates, including a South Hill businessman in 2013, will plead guilty to charges about two weeks before he was scheduled to go to trial, according to court records.

A hearing has been scheduled for this morning for James Henrikson to change his plea in the deaths of Doug Carlile and Kristopher “K.C.” Clarke. Also scheduled to plead guilty to charges in the case is Todd Bates, who has three times attempted to plead guilty, none of them to the satisfaction of U.S. District Court Judge Salvador Mendoza Jr.

Mendoza ruled just last week that Henrikson’s trial, scheduled to begin Oct. 5, would take place in Richland, due to extensive media coverage of the case in Spokane. Prosecutors planned to request that jurors hear evidence of an alleged escape attempt at the Spokane County Jail in August, during which Henrikson allegedly blocked the view of a jail guard by appearing to watch television, according to an FBI report.

If Henrikson goes through with the plea today, it will end an investigation that dates back nearly two years. Spokane police contacted Henrikson shortly after Carlile was found shot to death in his home on the South Hill in an apparent robbery gone awry. Local, state and federal authorities named Timothy Suckow the shooter, and were able to link the Spokane Valley man to Henrikson through texts, phone calls and the testimony of co-conspirators as well as Carlile’s family.

A federal grand jury indicted Henrikson on additional charges that he ordered the slaying of Clarke, one of his employees in an oil shipment company on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. Henrikson told investigators that Carlile owed him nearly $2 million for investments in a drilling operation that never came to fruition after other investors declined to work with Carlile because of his reputation.

Clarke’s body has not been found. Robby Wahrer, Robert Delao and Lazaro Pesina all have pleaded guilty to charges for their involvement in the criminal enterprise headed by Henrikson.

Henrikson’s former wife, Sarah Creveling, is facing federal fraud charges in North Dakota for her alleged involvement in financial crimes tied to Henrikson.  She pleaded not guilty to those charges at a hearing in North Dakota earlier this week.

What charges Henrikson and Bates will plead guilty to, and the deals they have made with prosecutors, were not disclosed Thursday.