Man convicted of hiring killer of 2 in oil patch dispute

RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — A federal jury has convicted a man accused of hiring a hit man to kill two of his associates in a dispute over business dealings in the North Dakota oil patch.


The Spokesman-Review newspaper of Spokane reports (http://goo.gl/BJBruh) the jury returned its verdict Thursday after a day of deliberation in the case of James Henrikson, who was accused of hiring Timothy Suckow to kill Spokane businessman Doug Carlile and Kristopher Clarke, associates tied to North Dakota's oil-field business.

Henrikson's federal trial was moved from Spokane to Richland because of extensive publicity over the 2013 shooting death of Carlile at his upscale home. Clarke was bludgeoned at a North Dakota truck stop.

Henrikson told police that Carlile, a self-employed contractor, owed him nearly $2 million, though prosecutors said there was no evidence of that.

Suckow has already pleaded guilty.