Why was Doug Carlile killed? Spokane Police Chief Frank Straub said in a January news conference that the shooting was probably motivated by “business transactions that went bad” in the oil fields. Witnesses cited in police reports said Carlile and Henrikson were each trying to cut the other out of the drilling deal even as their finances threatened to dry up.
By mid-November, Henrikson had found another potential backer who said he’d invest only if Carlile pulled out. Carlile refused. He in turn was working on a plan to buy out Henrikson, witnesses told police.
On Jan. 14, 16 federal agents raided the North Dakota home of Henrikson and Creveling while the couple was out. Investigators said they were looking for evidence of fraud and of Henrikson possessing guns as a felon.
Weapons Cache
They seized 20 boxes of documents related to Blackstone and other companies and 20 digital data storage devices. They also headed for the 5-foot-high locked gun safe in the master bedroom. They called the safe manufacturer, who gave them the factory-set combination, which opened the door.
Agents found four pistols, two shotguns and an assault rifle inside the safe. They also found records for Blackstone and Kingdom Dynamics, Henrikson’s probation papers and court records from Oregon, and a Texas identification card.
The day of the raid, Spokane police charged a local man, 50-year-old Timothy Suckow, with first-degree murder. Suckow, a bald, burly felon with assault and burglary convictions, had dropped a glove behind the Carlile home that led to a DNA match, “a crucial piece of evidence,” said Straub. Police searched Suckow’s SUV and said they found a hand-written list with entries including “glove,” “wheel man,” “wipe tools down,” and “practice with pistol.”
Suckow’s lawyers have not commented on the list nor any other evidence.
Crime Ties
When a second Spokane man, Robby Wahrer, was accused in April of driving the getaway van, the police affidavit cited an informant who said he told Suckow that “Henrikson was willing to pay $20,000 to do the job.”