KETTERING — A Kettering man has been indicted on kidnapping and aggravated burglary charges that stem from an incident a day after he was released from a 12-month prison sentence.
Wesley Anthony Michael Gates allegedly broke into a Kettering home earlier this month and assaulted an adult female resident, according to police. He was then found hiding in the backyard of a home about a block away.
- Gates previously convicted in a standoff with Kettering police
- Gates charged with aggravated burglary, felonious assault and other charges
- A 13-year-old female resident used an baseball bat against the suspect to stop the attack
UPDATE @ 2:23 p.m. (Sept. 30)
Wesley Gates has been indicted in Montgomery County on charges of kidnapping (three counts with specifications due to repeat violent offender); and single counts of aggravated burglary and felonious assault. He remains in Montgomery County Jail.
Gates will be arraigned in Montgomery County Common Pleas court Oct. 4.
UPDATE @ 9:44 a.m. (Sept. 23):
Charges have been approved for the man accused in a home invasion on Endover Road earlier this week.
Wesley Gates is charged with aggravated burglary, felonious assault, inducing panic and kidnapping, according to court records.
Gates is expected to be arraigned on the charges in Kettering Municipal Court Friday morning.
INITIAL REPORT:
A 13-year-old girl beat a just-released ex-convict with a baseball bat Wednesday morning, chasing off the man who Kettering authorities said assaulted another female inside the home.
Wesley Gates, 30, fled on foot from the residence on the 3800 block of Endover Road, the same street where he engaged police in a standoff in August 2015 — an incident that sent him to prison for a year before his release Tuesday.
The at-large Gates prompted a lockdown at a nearby Southdale Elementary School on Wednesday and a search in the neighborhood that lasted more than two hours. It took at least three police dogs to find Gates hiding under foliage in a backyard on Elmira Drive.
Kettering police said they do not know why Gates invaded his former neighbor’s home around 7 a.m., but said they will ask prosecutors to approve at least charges of aggravated burglary and assault. Gates was reportedly carrying what looked like a semi-automatic firearm, which police said was in fact a pellet gun.
Police use “Code Red” after morning home invasion
Calls to 911 from inside the residence illustrate the panic of the two women fending off Gates.
“I think the guy who got out of prison this week is at my house,” the caller said as a dog barked in the background. “He’s banging and banging and banging.”
The Kettering dispatcher attempted to keep the caller calm during the ordeal. The woman begged for police to hurry.
“He’s going to find another way to get in here,” the woman pleaded with the dispatcher. “Please hurry.”
Another call from inside the residence was filled with sobbing and screaming in the background.
A nearby neighbor called dispatchers to describe the scene that began unfolding outside once Gates began to flee.
“I’m seeing someone on the ground writhing in pain, screaming at the top of their lungs,” the neighbor said before describing Gates. “And I see a male … he was dressed in all black, probably 6 feet. He looks like the guy who used to be in our neighborhood, his name is Wesley.”
Joshua Carroll, a neighbor, recalled being awoken by family members who told him their neighbor was rolling around in her front yard screaming “Help, help, help!”
“When I went outside she had blood all over her face,” Carroll said. “I asked her if she needed help and she couldn’t barely talk. I walked her to her house and sat with her until police got there.”
Carroll said the victim explained Gates broke into the home, tried to assault her and begged for money.
“I just moved here four-and-a-half months ago,” Carroll said. “We’ve got a 6-year-old daughter and a baby on the way.”
Kettering Police used the municipality’s Code Red emergency notification system to alert nearby people to the unfolding manhunt. The system, used by more than a dozen communities in the region, allows police to communicate critical information about dangerous situations.
“It’s an alert that will issue a voicemail to everybody in a certain radius that we can designate to let them know of a scene,” said Kettering Police Officer John Jung.
Once found, Gates exhibited a bloodied face as authorities transported him to a hospital under police guard. His injuries were sustained from the whacks of a metal baseball bat to his head delivered by the 13-year-old in the residence, police said.
In August 2015, an anonymous tip led police to a Gates, then a wanted man who then barricaded himself inside an Endover Road home for about three hours. He was wanted for felony domestic violence and assault on a police officer, Kettering Police Sgt. Bradley Lambert said at the time.
Gates hid in the attic of the residence when police responded around 7:45 p.m. that summer afternoon. A special weapons and tactics team responded around 10 p.m., and shortly thereafter Gates surrendered, Lambert said.
“When they stated they were going to introduce gas, he gave up and came out,” the sergeant said after the incident.
Gates was then transported to Kettering jail, where he attempted to escape from officers, earning him another charge of obstruction, Lambert said.
Gates served time at the London Correctional Institution in Madison County before his release on parole Tuesday.
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