A quiet Monday afternoon in rural Wagoner County, Oklahoma, ended in a flash of gunfire, leaving three teenagers dead on a home’s floor and triggering a raw, painful debate over home defense, proportional force, and the tragic consequences of juvenile criminal choices.
The incident unfolded when three mask-wearing teenagers—17-year-old Jacob Redfearn, 19-year-old Maxwell Cook, and 16-year-old Jake Woodruff—forced their way into a residence. Inside, they were confronted by the homeowner’s 23-year-old son. Armed with an AR-15 rifle, the son opened fire on the intruders, killing all three at the scene.
While law enforcement authorities quickly classified the shooting as a clear-cut case of self-defense under state law, the family of one of the slain teens is speaking out, wrestling publicly with the line between self-protection and fatal force.
“Brass Knuckles Against an AR-15”
Speaking for the first time following the violent encounter, Leroy Schumacher, the grandfather of 17-year-old Jacob Redfearn, expressed profound grief while acknowledging the severe error in judgment his grandson made.
While Schumacher did not excuse the break-in, he argued vehemently that the immediate resort to deadly force was excessive.
“What these three boys did was stupid,” Schumacher admitted. “They knew they could be punished for it, but they did not deserve to die.”
Investigators later revealed that the teens were carrying brass knuckles and a knife when they breached the home. For Schumacher, the disparity in firepower between the intruders and the homeowner’s son was a central point of contention.
“Brass knuckles against an AR-15—come on, who was afraid for their life?” Schumacher said, questioning whether the shooter needed to fire lethal rounds at all three intruders.
Despite the family’s anguish, Wagoner County sheriff’s deputies affirmed that the shooter acted well within his legal rights. Under Oklahoma’s robust Stand Your Ground and Castle Doctrine statutes, a resident facing an unlawful, forceful home entry is legally presumed to have a reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily harm, justifying the use of lethal force. Consequently, prosecutors filed no charges against the resident.
The Alleged Ringleader and the Getaway Driver
As investigators pieced together the moments leading up to the fatal break-in, attention turned to 21-year-old Elizabeth Maria Rodriguez, who was arrested shortly after the shooting and identified as the getaway driver.
Detectives revealed that Rodriguez admitted to planning the burglary, believing the home contained valuable items worth stealing. She drove the three teenagers to the property, parked nearby, and waited for them to execute the plan—unaware that the break-in would turn fatal within seconds.
Schumacher singled out Rodriguez as the primary catalyst behind the tragedy, viewing his grandson as a follower who was led astray.
“She was the ringleader,” Schumacher said, expressing bitterness over how a young man who had previously avoided major trouble was drawn into a fatal situation.
Under Oklahoma law, individuals who participate in a felony that results in a death can be charged with felony murder, leaving Rodriguez facing severe murder charges for her role in planning the ill-fated burglary.
A Restless Legacy and a Warning to Others
For Schumacher, the debate over the legal boundaries of self-defense offers little comfort in the face of permanent loss. While he maintains his support for Second Amendment rights and the general principle of home protection, he believes the law should require a more measured response before lives are taken.
“There’s got to be a limit to that law. I mean, he shot all three of them; there was no need for that,” Schumacher reflected. “These boys’ families are going to suffer with this the rest of their lives. We have to live with this the rest of our lives.”
Acknowledging that his grandson’s fatal choices set the horrific sequence of events in motion, the grieving grandfather hopes the tragedy serves as a stark, unvarnished warning to other young people contemplating criminal acts.
“You can’t change history, but you can damn sure learn from it,” Schumacher said. “And maybe some kids will learn from this.”