Gypsy Joker Outlaw Motorcycle Club Members Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder and Kidnapping

Strategic Insights -

Two members of the Gypsy Joker Outlaw Motorcycle Club (GJOMC) were sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping, torturing, and murdering a former club member. The victims, Mark Leroy Dencklau and Chad Leroy Erickson, were convicted at trial in December 2021 of murder in aid of racketeering, kidnapping in aid of racketeering, resulting in death, kidnapping resulting in death, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, resulting in death.

Key Takeaways:

  • Mark Leroy Dencklau, the GJOMC Portland clubhouse president, and Chad Leroy Erickson, a GJOMC member, were sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the kidnapping, torture, and murder of a former club member, Robert Huggins.
  • The GJOMC is a criminal organization that engages in various acts of violent racketeering activity, including murder, kidnapping, robbery, extortion, narcotics trafficking, and witness tampering.
  • Dencklau, who served as the president of the GJOMC's Portland chapter from 2003 to 2018, directed GJOMC members to find Huggins after he was stripped of his club membership for allegedly stealing from the club.
  • Huggins was kidnapped from a residence in Portland and transported to a rural property in Southwest Washington, where he was severely beaten and tortured over several hours.
  • Erickson took part in the torture of Huggins, slashing his tattoo with a knife and stabbing him in the leg before helping to load him into a vehicle and leaving him in a field.
  • A medical examiner ruled that Huggins' death was caused by multiple blunt and sharp force injuries.

Statistics:

  • 2003: The year Mark Leroy Dencklau began serving as the president of the GJOMC's Portland chapter.
  • 2015: The year Robert Huggins was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by GJOMC members.
  • 2018: The year Mark Leroy Dencklau was arrested for his role in the kidnapping and murder of Robert Huggins.
  • December 2021: The month Mark Leroy Dencklau and Chad Leroy Erickson were convicted of murder in aid of racketeering, kidnapping in aid of racketeering, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

Sources:

  • United States Department of Justice News
  • United States Department of Justice News release dated December 2021