Two suspected motorcycle gang members from Oregon arrested charged in connection with the reported beating of a Spalding County man in May waived their arraignments last week in Spalding County Superior Court.
Dustin Wendelin, 40, and Charles Montgomery, 29, both of Milton-Freewater, Oregon, were arrested in October on Spalding County charges of aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and three counts of criminal street gang act violations.
The two suspects were also denied bond.
The Spalding County charges against Wendelin and Montgomery stem from a reported fight at about 11:30 p.m. May 1 at Big Jim’s Wing Shack.
Witnesses reportedly told deputies that several members of the Pagan Outlaws motorcycle gang entered Big Jim’s as the victim and his friend were singing karaoke. One of the alleged gang members started a fight with the victim, leaving the victim severely beaten and with a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.
The suspects ran before responding deputies arrived, Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix said at the time of the suspects’ arrests.
According to the suspects’ indictment, Wendelin and Montgomery are said to have participated in the beating “with the intent to obtain, earn, maintain and increase his status in said gang.”
During a months-long investigation to find the suspects, Spalding County Sheriff’s Office investigators learned that Wendelin and Montgomery were reportedly active members of the Pagan Motorcycle Club, also known as the Pagans. Investigators also learned that Wendelin was serving as the reported chapter president of the Pagan’s territories in Washington state and Oregon, Dix said.
Wendelin and Montgomery are being held in the Spalding County jail.
