PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A 56-year-old man was kidnapped, terrorized and then murdered by outlaw motorcycle gangsters in July 2015, prosecutors say after 6 people were arrested in connection with the crime.
The body of Robert Lee Huggins was found by loggers on July 1, 2015 in rural Clark County.
On Thursday, Tiler Evan Pribbernow, Earl Devearl Fisher and Mark Leroy Dencklau were all charged with one count of murder, criminal conspiracy to commit murder, criminal conspiracy to commit first-degree kidnapping, and two counts of first-degree kidnapping.
“Detectives can also confirm that the five people arraigned [Thursday] are in some way associated to each other through outlaw motorcycle gangs” — PPB Sgt. Pete Simpson
A probable cause affidavit filed in the case has been sealed. In court documents, prosecutors said the release of any information contained in the affidavit could compromise the ongoing law enforcement investigation.Huggins, police confirmed on Thursday, was once affiliated with the outlaw motorcycle gang, the Gypsy Jokers, and that his death is directly linked to that affiliation.
“Detectives can also confirm that the five people arraigned [Thursday] are in some way associated to each other through outlaw motorcycle gangs,” Sgt. Pete Simpson said in a prepared press release.
Prosecutors say Huggins was killed around June 30, 2015, though the specific location and cause of his death has not been released.
Dencklau, Fisher and Pribbernow “knowingly and intentionally” kidnapped and “did cause the death of [Huggins],” prosecutors said.
The three men are also accused of agreeing with each other, and potentially others, to “intentionally cause the death of [Huggins],” according to court documents. They are also accused taking Huggins to terrorize him..
Kendra Lee Castle and Ronald Charles Thompson are both accused of hindering prosecution. The specific role Castle and Thompson played in the case has not been released.
Castle, Thompson, Dencklau, Fisher and Pribbernow all appeared in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
Malachi Watkins, who is being held at the Stafford Creek Corrections Center in Aberdeen, Wash., will face the same charges as Dencklau, Fisher and Pribbernow, according to police. His name was not in the court documents filed Thursday.
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact Detective Jim Lawrence at 503-823-0867, james.lawrence@portlandoregon.gov ; or, Detective Rico Beniga at 503-823-0457, rico.beniga@portlandoregon.gov.