COLUMBUS, Ohio -A gunman who shot and killed a heavy-metal guitarist at a concert in December had an onstage fight with security during a show by the guitarist's band a year ago in Cincinnati, authorities said.
Nathan Gale was dragged off stage at a Damageplan concert at Bogart's nightclub in Cincinnati eight months before shooting Dimebag Darrell Abbott at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus.
Police spokeswoman Sherry Mercurio confirmed yesterday that Cincinnati police identified Gale as a suspect in the April 5, 2004, disturbance at Bogart's.
Gale, 25, jumped on stage and caused about $1,800 worth of damage to lights and other equipment during a struggle with club security, according to Cincinnati police reports. The band continued playing as Gale was removed from the stage, witnesses said.
Officers who responded to a 911 call labeled Gale's actions as criminal damaging and endangering, but no charges were filed because band members did not want to return to Cincinnati for court hearings, The Columbus Dispatch reported yesterday.
On Dec. 8, Gale rushed on stage at Alrosa Villa and shot and killed Abbott and three others who tried to intervene. Three others were injured before an officer killed Gale with a shotgun blast.
Police might never know whether the cases were linked, said Sgt. Jeff Sacksteder of the Columbus police homicide squad.
There may have been a bridge
but the other part of this is what (Gale) was going through mentally.
Gale had told his mother and a former employer that he was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic before he was discharged from the Marines in October 2003, two years into a four-year stint. Military records do not mention mental illness as the reason for the discharge.
Gale was a fan of Abbott's former band Pantera, nominated for a Grammy in 1994. Damageplan formed after Pantera broke up.
Acquaintances of Gale said he had accused Pantera of stealing songs from him.
The police homicide division's critical response team is still investigating the actions of officer James D. Niggemeyer, who shot Gale at Alrosa Villa. All cases of lethal force by police are presented to a grand jury.
-The Associated Press 17
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