Crime scene tape at the scene of a homicide in Ridgefield on July 1, 2015. (Natalie Behring/Columbian files)
The death of the man whose body was found in a field north of Vancouver last summer was a torturous retribution killing, according to one of the investigators in the case.
Investigators believe that Robert Lee Huggins, 56, was kidnapped in Portland but was brutally beaten and tortured in Woodland, Portland Police Bureau Detective Jim Lawrence said.
Lawrence met with The Columbian last week to discuss evidence that will be revealed at bail hearings Monday and today. He outlined what happened to Huggins and detailed how detectives in Clark County and Portland worked together to charge four people with Huggins’ murder and two others with trying to throw off the investigation.
When loggers alerted police to the body they found about 100 feet south of Northeast 179th Street in the early morning hours of July 1, 2015, Clark County sheriff’s detectives quickly identified Huggins based on his tattoos, which were documented by files at the Clark County Jail, Lawrence said.
The Clark County medical examiner eventually ruled the death a torture homicide, pointing to multiple skull fractures, blunt-force injuries and sharp-force injuries, Lawrence said.
Over the past year, investigators worked backward to learn what happened to Huggins. So far six suspects have been arrested.
Mark Dencklau, 56, of Woodburn, Ore.; Earl Fisher, 47, of Gresham, Ore.; Tiler Pribbernow, 34, of Portland; and Malichi Watkins, 32, of Camas all face a charge of felony murder. Ron Thompson, 51, of Portland and Kendra Castle, 43, of Gresham, Ore., face charges of hindering prosecution.
Detectives continue to investigate and say there may be more arrests.
“An investigation is ongoing until a jury renders a verdict,” Lawrence said. “This is a hard case … We have a lot of information but (there is) a lot we don’t know.”
Police know Huggins is a former member of the Gypsy Joker motorcycle club who went by the nickname “Bagger Bobby,” because he was the group’s enforcer as well as the group’s treasurer, Lawrence said.
He was kicked out of the gang in September 2014 after the club discovered he was stealing money to support his heroin addiction, Lawrence said. Intravenous drug use is not allowed in the motorcycle club, he explained.
The group then “green lit” Huggins, allowing any member to “take him out” any time they saw him, Lawrence said.
After months of being victim to physical abuse and stealing, Huggins reportedly robbed the house of Dencklau, the motorcycle club’s Portland president. He tied up Dencklau’s girlfriend while stealing items from his house, Lawrence said.
Then, on June 30, 2015, a group of men kidnapped Huggins from a residence in which he had been staying, at 11950 N.E. Holladay St.in Portland, Lawrence said.
Detectives obtained surveillance footage of the kidnapping from a neighbor, Lawrence said. They collected cell tower data to show the northern movement of motorcycle gang’s members as well as their communication with each other.
Investigators also captured surveillance video from a convenience store in Woodland and eventually served a search warrant at 39103 N.W. Pacific Highway in Woodland, where they believed the torture killing occurred, Lawrence said.
Detectives are waiting for state crime lab results from evidence collected at that scene.
The vehicle used in the kidnapping, a Chevrolet Suburban, was found parked at an auto detail shop owned by Thompson, who is alleged to be an affiliate of the Gypsy Jokers. Though the vehicle had been cleaned, detectives were able to find evidence of blood, with DNA believed to match Huggins’, Lawrence said.
Thompson and Castle, the registered owner of the vehicle, told a story about the vehicle which police believe to be false, Lawrence said, which resulted in the hindering prosecution charges.
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