Two of the 12 charged with murder in the May 13 biker gang shootout got a bond set Friday, making five now eligible for release.
Like nearly everyone charged in the incident, James Bryant and Deja Dotson were not from Augusta and had close military ties.
“The Outcasts and the Thug Riders recruit members who have prior military service,” Augusta Circuit Major Crimes Assistant District Attorney Keagan Waystack said. “But these are 1-percenters, who are outlaw gangs.”
The May 13 incident was a clash between the rival gangs that followed similar confrontations at Outcast clubhouses in Georgia, North Carolina, Florida and Kentucky, she said.
More than 150 shell casings were found and 25 guns that were used have not been found, she said. Two Thug Riders, Germayne Ferrell of Dayton Beach and Keith Coates of Valdosta, were killed.
Two of those charged, Outcast Larry Sutton and Thug Rider Larry Ross, were previously granted a $75,000 bond and have returned home to North Carolina. Wright granted Thug Rider Matthew Willis an $83,100 bond last week.
During city-sponsored Mayfest, which attracts many motorcyclists to Augusta, the Outcasts hosted a party at their headquarters, located about a mile from May Park on Sand Bar Ferry Road.
James Bryant
A member of the Outcast Motorcycle Club, Bryant, 31, came to Augusta with his wife from Fayetteville, N.C.
But he appeared to not be at the clubhouse during the melee, and went to the scene after receiving a phone call, said Waystack, who did not oppose a bond for Bryant.
He was arrested after he turned up at the scene wearing pajama pants and no shoes, having left his gun and boots at the nearby Maryland Fried Chicken, Waystack said.
Defense attorney Katrell Nash said her office was gathering video from the Holiday Inn Express where Bryant was seen at the time of the incident. She brought a hotel clerk to the bond hearing to testify. Bryant is a veteran with three deployments and an honorable discharge, she said.
Richmond County Superior Court Judge Ashley Wright set Bryant’s bond amount at $25,000, with instructions to have no contact with Outcast or other gang members. He can’t wear any gear or other sign of club membership. He can’t return to Augusta except for medical or legal appointments, she said.
Deja Dotson
Like fellow May 13 defendant Matthew Willis, Deja Dotson, 30, worked at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay.
“Mr. Dotson is ex-military. He drove trucks for the Army. Kings Bay is not a place that the military just lets any old person drive a truck around,” defense attorney Charles Rollins said.
Seven of those arrested came from St. Marys or Kingsland in Camden County, where 16 members of the Outcast gang were indicted last week.
It was reasonable that Dotson, headed home toward St. Marys, and his friends would turn on Sand Bar Ferry Road, Rollins said. Prosecutors say they drove the wrong way on a one-way street to park in a line in front of the Outcast clubhouse.
Rollins said Dotson and fellow defendant Cory Sapp said someone poured a pitcher of water on a smoking motorcycle. But they were then “ambushed by 70-100 people.” Dotson’s head was grazed by a bullet and he was shot in the arm then lost consciousness. “He saw one of his friends get murdered in front of him,” Rollins said.
Dotson is also president of the Kingsland chapter of the Thug Riders, Waystack said. He wasn’t tested for gunshot residue at the hospital, she said.
“By all indications the Thug Riders came up here for Mayfest, and they decided they would go over to the Outcast clubhouse,” she said. “They had been told to stay away from the Outcast clubhouse… They knew they were going there because there were discussions about going over there before at Mayfest.”
Suspect Freddie Crosson, a Thug Rider who was illiterate due to a brain injury, was denied a bond last week. On his phone he had the locations of all Outcast clubhouses in Georgia, she said.
Wright granted Dotson a bond, of $40,000 for each of two murder charges and $20,000 for aggravated assault, for a total of $100,000. He may have no affiliation with any motorcycle club, wear no insignia, design or logo from the group, have no contact with witnesses and not return to Augusta except for legal or medical visits, she said.
In the courtroom audience, a member of Dotson’s family threw a gang sign with her hand at the news.
Cory Sapp
Suspect Cory Sapp, 30, was the one gang member not granted a bond Friday. Sapp, the vice president of the Kingsland chapter, claimed his motorcycle was the one “smoking” outside the Outcast clubhouse after seven or eight bikers formed a “perfect line” in front of it, Waystack said.
He was found in nearby woods with a busted lip and complaining he lost his other gun, she said. Sapp, whose wife remains jailed without bond in the incident, tested positive for gun residue. He had five-seven ammunition in his motorcycle bag and a scattering of spent five-seven rounds were around his bike, she said.
Defense attorney Sam Emas said Sapp had worked for General Dynamics, which manufactures submarines in Kings Bay, and has a security clearance. He’s been there for five years, Emas said.
Wright said there was a risk of Sapp intimidating witnesses and denied him a bond.
