SPOKANE, Wash. – A Bakken trucking company operator pleaded guilty Friday in Washington state to two counts of murder for hire.
James Terry Henrikson admitted in a plea agreement filed in federal court that he paid Timothy Suckow $20,000 to kill Kristopher “KC” Clarke in February 2012 in North Dakota. Henrikson also admitted hiring Suckow to kill Douglas Carlile in December 2013 in Spokane.
Clarke worked as a truck driver for Henrikson in North Dakota and Carlile was an investor and equipment operator who formed companies with Henrikson.
Henrikson, who lived in Watford City, N.D., operated the Blackstone trucking company.
Prosecutors said in court documents Henrikson believed Clarke was going to start a competing business. Prosecutors say Clarke was beaten to death at a shop near Mandaree and his body buried in a remote area of western North Dakota. Documents say Suckow beat Clarke over the head with a metal jack handle, crushing his skull.
Clarke’s body has not been found. His vehicle was found near Williston about two months after he disappeared.
Prosecutors said Henrikson wanted Carlile dead because Carlile refused to give up his stake in an oil lease and that Carlile owed him money. Carlile was shot multiple times at close range in his Spokane home.
The plea agreement states that prosecutors plan to ask for a 40-year sentence for Henrikson, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.
Henrikson is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18 in Spokane. He was set to go to trial next month.
Henrikson was arrested on weapons charges in North Dakota but was then charged in Washington state and court proceedings moved there.
In August, Henrikson attempted to escape from the Spokane County jail.
Last week, Suckow, 51, pleaded guilty to charges of murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire in the deaths of Clarke and Carlile. Prosecutors said he was to have been paid $20,000 for killing Carlile. Suckow faces up to 30 years in prison under the terms of his plea deal.
Co-defendant Robert Delao pleaded guilty to helping to arrange Carlile's murder by acting as a middleman between Henrikson and Suckow, among other charges, according to court documents. Delao could be sentenced to between 14 and 17 years in prison under the terms of his plea deal.
Reuters media contributed to this report.
