An Air Force veteran assaulted outside a Wentzville bar early Saturday has died. Two men who were charged with assault in the incident will now face murder charges.
The victim is identified as Chaise Dunlap, 27, of Old Monroe, Missouri. Dunlap’s mother, Cresent Dunlap, confirmed to the Post-Dispatch on Monday that her son died of his injuries. He suffered severe head trauma and had been hospitalized on life support.
While Dunlap was still alive in the hospital, prosecutors over the weekend filed assault charges against two men. Devin Dodson, 24, was charged with first-degree assault; and Deangelo Williams, 30, was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Now that Dunlap has died, the charges will be upgraded sometime Monday, said Leslie Knight, a spokeswoman for the St. Charles County prosecutor’s office.
Wentzville police said the incident happened just before 2 a.m. Saturday in the 100 block of South Linn Avenue, outside the Lava Lounge Hookah and Bar. Police said Dunlap was hit by a metal object but did not know exactly what.
Police received a call for a man down in the road with a severe head injury. An ambulance took him to a hospital and police arrested the two men.
Chaise Dunlap served in the U.S. Air Force. He worked in avionics on an aircraft known as the A-10 “Warthog.” He deployed overseas twice. He left the military in 2017 and worked at Boeing, his mother said.
Chaise Dunlap is survived by a 4-year-old daughter.
“He was just a great guy,” Cresent Dunlap said. “He liked to hunt and fish. He was kind-hearted.”
Cresent Dunlap said she doesn’t know all the details of the incident but was told by authorities that “there was a scuffle and someone picked up a pipe and assaulted my son.”
As she mourns her son, Cresent Dunlap said she felt for the families of the men who face criminal charges too.
“Three families are ruined right now,” she said. “My hearts beaks for the mothers of those boys.”
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