6 tied to Gypsy Joker Outlaw Motorcycle Club indicted on murder, kidnapping, racketeering

PORTLAND, Ore. – Six members of the Gypsy Joker Outlaw Motorcycle Club have been indicted on charges of racketeering conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder.

The indictment was announced Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice District of Oregon.

The indictment claims that the Gypsy Jokers have been a part of a wide range of crimes since 2003, including murder, kidnapping, drug dealing, robbery, extortion, and witness tampering.

Officials said Gypsy Joker Outlaw Motorcycle Club National President Kenneth Earl Hause, 61, of Aumsville, Oregon was also indicted on a charge of “conspiring to conduct and participate in the activities of a racketeering enterprise.”

The indictment named five other people associated with the club, charging them with several crimes connected to the 2015 kidnapping and murder of Robert Huggins, a former member of the club. One of the suspects was unnamed, however, the other four are listed below:

• Mark Leroy Dencklau, 58, of Woodburn
• Earl Deverle Fisher, 48, of Gresham
• Ryan Anthony Negrinelli, 36, of Gresham
• Joseph Duane Folkerts, 61, of Battleground, Washington

Authorities served a search warrant at the Gypsy Joker's clubhouse in Northeast Portland back in May 2016 as part of the investigation into Huggins' murder. Denklau, Fisher, and a third man - Tiler Pribbernow - were initially charged in the case. Pribbernow pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge.

According to the Department of Justice, the club “preserves, promotes and protects its power, territory and profits” with violence, intimidation, extortion, drug distribution, and robbery.

“Kenneth Hause is the leader of a criminal organization that, through its many chapters and support clubs, has sowed violence and intimidation throughout the Pacific Northwest,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Billy J. Williams. “This is an organization whose members and associates pride themselves on living outside the law and use kidnapping, assault, murder and other forms of violence to extend and maintain their power. Kenneth Hause and his co-defendants will soon have their day in court and will face the consequences of their crimes.”

The government is working to seize the Gypsy Joker’s clubhouse in Salem, officials said.