SOUTH BEND — Anthony R. Bong, 33, has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree assault a year after he stabbed Wayne L. Chapman in the neck in Ocean Park on June 20, 2022.

Three other men were also attacked by Bong when they tried to subdue him before law enforcement arrived.

LifeFlight transported Chapman to Oregon Health and Science University Hospital in Portland, where he died. One other man was transported to Ocean Beach Hospital with knife-slash injuries he sustained while trying to subdue Bong.

The murder case moved slow because Bong was on a waitlist to be evaluated by Western State Hospital for more than six months to determine if he was mentally fit to stand trial. On Feb. 1, he was deemed suitable to stand trial.

The trial was set for June 26, but Bong’s attorney David Arcuri reached a plea agreement on June 2, and his formal sentencing was set over to June 30.

According to court records, Bong faced a standard sentencing range of 123-220 months for second-degree murder and 93-123 months for first-degree assault, with an offender score of 0.

Under Bong’s plea agreement, the Pacific County Prosecutor’s Office recommended he be handed a mid-range sentence of 279.5 months in prison — a little more than 23 years. The sentences for the charges run consecutively because they are Class A felonies. Bong will also be subjected to 36 months of community custody upon release.