According to Sheriff Darrell Dix, “According to witnesses, several members of the 1% Pagans Outlaw motorcycle gang entered the business as the victim and his friend were singing karaoke. One of the Pagan Outlaws started a fight with the victim and when it was over the victim was left severely beaten, suffering a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.
The suspects then ran before the responding deputies arrived.” Spalding County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigators and CAGE Investigators poured over statements from witnesses and other evidence to identify those responsible for the crime. Unfortunately, the trail grew cold, and no positive identification on the suspects. Throughout the following weeks and months investigators continued working the case and followed up on leads as they came in. “Both Criminal Investigators and CAGE Investigators believed that the suspects were not identified because they were not from this area.
The Pagan Motorcycle Gang has members spread across the United States and that slowed the identification of the suspects. The area involved in the investigation was spreading so we partnered with agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. We exchanged information about the Pagans and photographs of known members in our effort to identify the perpetrators. With the help of the GBI and ATF, as well as additional witness interviews, a positive identification was made of the Pagans responsible for the beating.”
Investigators identified them as Dustin Wendelin 40, of 131 SE 3rd Ave. Milton-Freewater, Oregon, and Charles Montgomery 29, of 84283 Highway 339 Milton-Freewater, Oregon, both of whom are active Pagans.
Investigators also learned that Wendelin, who was serving as the chapter president of the Pagan’s Motorcycle gang’s territories in Washington State and Oregon, has been employed as a Correctional Officer at the Washington State Penitentiary facility since 2011.
On October 6, 2021, investigators with the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office flew to Washington State and arrested Wendelin, who had been in custody September 9, 2021, in Walla-Walla, and Montgomery who had been in custody in Oregon. Both are also facing charges stemming from an extensive investigation relating to crimes committed by the Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle gang by authorities in Washington State and Oregon.
“Due to the severity of the charges, criminal street gang affiliation, and high potential for violence during the transport, I sent members of the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team, Special Operations/CAGE Investigators, along with Transport Team Deputies to bring them back from Washington State and Oregon. They were also accompanied on their flights by agents with the Federal Air Marshal Service.”
Wendelin and Montgomery have been charged with aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and 3 counts each of Violation of the Georgia Criminal Street Gang Act. Other warrants may be obtained for additional charges as the investigation continues. Both are currently being held in the Spalding County Jail without bond.
The arrest of these individuals and their transport back to Spalding County was the culmination of a joint effort by Spalding County investigators and the other agencies involved, including the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Jones County Georgia Sheriff’s Office, Walla Walla County Washington Sheriff’s Office, Milton-Freewater Oregon Police Department, Umatilla County Oregon Sheriff’s Office, Seattle Washington Port Police, and the Federal Air Marshal Service. We are proud of the working relationships we have forged with other agencies whether they need our help and resources, or we need theirs. These arrests were the result of those strong relationships.
Wendelin and Montgomery thought they wouldn’t be tracked across the United States. They felt confident that they were safe at home in Washington and Oregon, they were as far away from Spalding County as they needed to be, and I guess they thought wrong. A great idea for them would be to not come here and do dumb stuff in the first place. Don’t do dumb stuff and hurt people and you won’t have to worry about where to hide or getting caught. To us it doesn’t matter what gang they are affiliated with whether its crips, bloods, ghost face gangsters, pagans, the klan, offshoots of these, or others; they are all the same. They victimize and terrorize innocent people, and they destroy families and communities. We are going to continue our commitment to support crime victims no matter what they look like, who they are, or where they live.
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