The Murder of Rick Chance
Triangle
The third side of this triangle was 24-year-old Robert Donald Lemke II, a male dancer from the Pacific Northwest with a checkered past. Lemke was convicted of felony assault and ended up in Tempe by jumping bail after he pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm in Tacoma, Washington. Despite his criminal record, he had a fresh- faced, frosted-hair look that most people found attractive.
Friends told police that Lemke liked living "in the fast lane," drove a Cadillac and kept pit bulls. He was known in the adult entertainment business as a hustler and dealmaker, the Arizona Republic reported.
He arrived in the valley as a skinny kid from Washington state with a penchant for guns and violence. Lemke discovered the world of exotic dancing and escorts and apparently had what it took to succeed in the business. He bulked up from 185 pounds to more than 220, according to his escort license application. In a little more than two years, Lemke managed to build his own escort business and somewhere along the line he met Brandi Lynn Hungerford.
Friends recall that the pair hit it off immediately. Business was still business, however, and Hungerford continued working as an escort and dancer while they dated.
Trouble seemed to follow Lemke around. He was an aggressive dancer, sometimes taking his routine over the line of acceptability at the clubs he danced at, said one club manager.
What was clear to everyone who knew him was that Lemke liked the better things in life and wasn't averse to taking shortcuts to get them.