Brazen beating at Wendy's, but what was the beef?

FORT WAYNE, Ind. ---It had to be more than a beef to set up a potential shoot-em-up at Wendy’s.

Those grinding there Aug. 17 around 7:45 p.m. must be asking themselves why they work at a minimum wage job when five armed and masked young men can freely enter and start wreaking havoc.

Derriel Jones, Jr.

Derriel Lashun Jones, Jr., 17, strode into Wendy’s at Southtown Crossing with a black-and -white DPMS DA-15 AR style pistol.

In-store surveillance video caught Jones trying to conceal the pistol inside a gray zip up jacket he’d left unzipped, according to a probable cause affidavit written by Det. Nicholas McCurdy.

The aggressors were after a specific person that at least some of them had beaten up before, court documents said.

Jones found his target in the grill area. He walked around the public counter in to the kitchen and “positioned himself to allow his associates to enter the kitchen in a manner consistent with obtaining an advantageous position,” before the robbery and battery took place.

The associates were hell bent on beating up the victim, and Jones is seen on camera pointing a gun at the victim’s head, court documents said. Police responded to "a fight involving at least two firearms."

Another individual working in the grill area was pushed and shoved out of the way so two of the associates could have at the victim. The two associates appeared to be tasked with beating up the victim and trying to pull off his backpack.

Nasir Martin

While they were delivering blows to the victim, Jones went back to the poor guy stuck in the kitchen with five out-of-control hooligans and went through his pockets. He found a vape pen and tried to put it in his jacket pocket, but it fell out, court documents said.

Leaving the vape pen behind, Jones went back to the beating, checked his back and stomped twice on the victim, now down on the ground.

The victim gave up the backpack after he realized hanging on to it wasn’t worth getting badly beaten, court documents said. It wasn’t the first time he’d been attacked by this bunch.

In the backpack was a tan Taurus handgun, one of two guns the group ditched when they realized the police had been called. The Fort Wayne Gang & Violent Crimes unit found the Taurus gun and the AR-style pistol in some brush near the Fifth Third Bank close by, after they pulled the five over in a traffic stop.

Jones also left one of his shoes behind near the guns in the brush, but court docs didn’t say whether it was a Croc, a slide or a designer sneaker.

Jones and his 18-year-old cohort, Nasir L. Martin, were charged in the incident. Three others named in the probable cause were not and it’s probably a good bet they’re sitting over at the Allen County Juvenile Center or “JuVee,” as it’s known.

Martin was charged with armed robbery, a Felony 3, and misdemeanor battery resulting in bodily injury. He has a court hearing on Monday, online court documents indicate.

Jones got an additional charge on top of Felony 3 armed robbery and misdemeanor battery resulting in bodily injury  -  being a child in possession of a dangerous firearm. Jones has a hearing on Sept. 15.