Home Invasion Suspect Checks Himself Out Of Hospital

A Shawnee home invasion suspect who was shot in the chest is on the run.

Justin Ray Harjo walked out of the OU Medical Center and now police hope someone knows where he is.

Shawnee police had an officer guarding Harjo for the first few days he was hospitalized, but once he got out of ICU, he hightailed it out of the hospital. It was about 2:30 a.m.

“We heard a horrific noise. Bang,” Cardell Banks said.

And it woke up Banks and his wife, Frances. Cardell got out of bed.

“Then all of a sudden I saw a figure in the door, and he was hollering ‘Get on the ground. Get on the ground.'” Banks said.

So Banks went for his gun and gave the intruder a fair warning.

“I warned him. I said, ‘You better get out of here,'” Banks said.

But Harjo didn't listen and just kept coming toward Banks, and Banks pulled the trigger. Harjo ran outside the same backdoor he'd just kicked in and was later found hiding under a neighbor's car. Banks called 911.

“I shot at him,” he told a 911 dispatcher. “I don't know if I hit him, but I shot at him.”

Harjo was rushed to OU Medical Center where he was in critical condition for about six weeks, but when Harjo got out of ICU and was transferred to another room, he walked out of the hospital going from a patient to a fugitive.

Police knew he couldn't go anywhere while in ICU. He was shot in the chest.

“At that point he wasn't going anywhere, and we always knew that this was a possibility,” Shawnee Police Detective Jason Crouch said. “That he could maybe walk out on his own, but we have a warrant for him. We're going to find him eventually, and he's going to answer for this.”

Hospital surveillance video caught Harjo leaving and getting into a vehicle. He may be on the run, but he's not in good health. Cardell and Frances prayed he would live but hope he doesn't come back.

“I will protect my family again,” Banks said. “Life is so precious, but our lives are precious, too.”

During Harjo's hospital stay he was charged with several crimes.