Police seek help identifying suspects in home invasion
NEWALLA — A woman hid in her closet while her husband, armed with a handgun, confronted people breaking into their rural Cleveland County home, according to a newly released sheriff’s department report about a weekend home invasion that resulted in the death of one of the home invaders.
Russell Gage, 42, exchanged gunfire with masked invaders, driving them back outside, where one man was struck and killed by gunfire, the report indicates.
Gage’s wife, Donna, told Cleveland County deputies that her husband acted in self-defense Saturday while she huddled in a bedroom closet, according to the report.
Sheriff’s detectives are trying to determine the dead man’s identity and the names of several subjects who fled the scene at 1051 192nd Ave. NE in Newalla.
Donna Gage said she and her husband were getting ready for bed about 10:30 p.m. when they heard someone trying to break in their front door. Her husband told her to get in a closet while he retrieved a handgun, called 911 and went to investigate.
Deputy Dustin Murchison wrote that when he arrived at the residence about 10:45 p.m., he found a man wearing a bloody ski mask lying on his left side in the front yard. A black handgun was on the grass nearby, he said.
Russell Gage was outside, and Donna Gage and a female friend were inside. The women were crying, the deputy wrote. The friend said she arrived after the incident.
The deputy said he saw two spent bullet casings on the living room floor and two bullet holes in a living room window. The front door was damaged as if it had been kicked in.
Murchison said bullet fragments were found inside the front door. A silver handgun was recovered from the bedroom.
Another handgun and a flashlight were recovered from the hood of a pickup parked in the yard.
Investigators are asking for the public’s help determining the identity of the dead man and the other intruders.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s department’s tip line at 701-8870 or Crime Stoppers at 701-8872.