GATESVILLE – Two suspects wanted in the severe beating of a Gates County man are behind bars.

Gates County Sheriff Ed Webb reported the arrests of Nygel N. McDowell, 22, of 141734 Chase Gayton Terrace in Richmond, Va. and 19-year-old Dominque Antwan Hathaway of 5323 Millpond Road, Gatesville.

Both men were charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and armed robbery with a dangerous weapon.

McDowell was arrested Thursday in Richmond, Va. He was originally held without bond in the Henrico County Jail. Sheriff Webb said McDowell waived extradition and was scheduled to be picked-up on Sunday by Gates County deputies.

Hathaway was arrested Friday in Gates County. His bond was set at $300,000 secured and he was transported to the Chowan County Jail.

Meanwhile, the victim of the crime, Shawn Butler (age not reported) of 1083 Silver Springs Road, Gatesville, remains in critical condition at Sentara Norfolk (Va.) General Hospital.

Butler was allegedly assaulted by the two suspects on the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 30. Webb said the initial report to his office was that a man at the Silver Springs Road residence was bleeding from the head.

“We received information immediately regarding persons of interest in this case, but there was not much about those persons other than there was a silver Buick Rivera that we needed to be on the lookout for,” Webb said.

The Sheriff added that it was later learned the suspects had fled to Richmond, Va.

Meanwhile, the Gates County Sheriff’s Office, under lead investigator Sgt. Randy Hathaway, along with the SBI Crime Scene team collected evidence from the residence.

A break in the case arrived in unexpected fashion on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 31) when the suspect vehicle was seen driving past the crime scene. Webb said that vehicle was immediately stopped and the two individuals inside were questioned extensively by Gates County lawmen and the SBI.

“We learned even more from that round of questioning,” Webb said.

On Monday of last week, the investigation turned-up another key lead – the weapon used in the assault was an aluminum baseball bat. Webb summoned the assistance of Rocky Mount Police K-9 Officer Tim Brady and “Clyde” – a dog capable of article searches.

“That turned out every well as ‘Clyde’ located an aluminum bat just across the state line on a Virginia back road south of Whaleyville,” Webb stated.

Then, armed with even more information, Webb had arrest warrants drawn for McDowell and Dominque Hathaway. McDowell was served with his warrant when he arrived for a Nov. 5 meeting with his probation officer in Richmond. Webb said McDowell was on probation for previous felonies in North Carolina and Virginia.

“I can’t say enough about the work of my guys on this case…they all pitched in; it was a team effort,” Webb said. “Plus I’d like to thank the SBI agents, the Rocky Mount Police and the Henrico County (Va.) Sheriff.”