CEDAR RAPIDS – An Iowa man who hit a woman with a gun and threatened a doubled homicide pled guilty on April 19, 2018, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Gage Ferdinand Skola, age 28, from Marion, Iowa, was convicted of one count of possessing a firearm as a felon.
At the plea hearing, Skola admitted he possessed a handgun in February 2018. Evidence at an earlier hearing and court documents reflect that, on February 10, 2018, Marion Police responded to a call of a woman bleeding from the head. The woman stated that she and her fiancée, Skola, had engaged in an argument that escalated throughout the day. Skola then obtained a handgun and hit her in the back of the head with it. The woman fled to a neighbor’s residence, and Skola followed her there shortly thereafter. Skola then entered the neighbor’s residence, pointed a revolver at his fiancée, then at his own head, stating that there was going to be a “double homicide.” One of the neighbors took the revolver from Skola, and Skola left the house. Marion Police officers arrested Skola a few hours later when he returned to the neighbor’s house. Skola later told officers that he drank an entire bottle of Fireball whiskey earlier in the day on February 10, and did not remember anything from the day after that.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Skola remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Skola faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.
The case is being investigated by the Marion Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham.
