Trending
Officers of the Ice Cold Ryders motorcycle club of Minot spoke with The Minot Daily News Friday. A fatal shooting early this past Sunday morning occurred in the alley located between the 10 Block of First Street SW and South Broadway, adjacent to ICR clubhouse.
Killed was 30-year-old Roger Falana, Minot. A 43-year-old woman was treated and released for gunshot wounds. Both victims were discovered in the alley by police shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday. Minot Police issued an arrest warrant Thursday for Johnny C. Norwood, 25, the man police say is responsible for the shooting. Police also say two different calibers of ammunition casings were found at the scene. As of late Friday, Norwood was still at large.
Although both victims and Norwood were inside the ICR clubhouse prior to the shooting, no members of the Ice Cold Ryders have been implicated. The club has a policy of patting down anyone entering the club to prevent firearms or other weapons from being on premises.
“We are not gang-bangers,” said Lashone Brown, ICR president. “This is a city that we have come to love. We want to put a light on who we are and what we have done for Minot since 2010.”
ICR hosts two major events geared toward children each year. One of them, Ice Cold Christmas, is scheduled for Dec. 19 at the Minot Moose Club, but could be in jeopardy. Following Sunday’s shooting, Minot Police froze club assets on a charge of illegal sales of liquor. Brown explained that alcohol is served at the club on a donation-only basis and maintains that funds received are used for charitable events. Police said they could not comment on an ongoing investigation.
Anyone wishing to donate to the Ice Cold Christmas event is encouraged to do so by visiting the Ice Cold Ryders on Facebook.
“We don’t mean any harm to the city of Minot. We are here to do good,” said Brown.
It has been reported that Norwood was involved in an altercation inside the ICR clubhouse prior to the shooting. Evan Hunt, ICR vice-president, said that was not the case.
“The guy involved in the shooting, we maybe had one or two incidents in the past with him but he wasn’t even involved in [an] altercation in the club that night,” said Hunt. “We don’t know what the shooting stems from. These people had a personal issue that got out of hand.”
Hunt said he knew Falana was from Miami. He had been coming to the ICR clubhouse for about two years.
“I know he raps. We have some of his CDs. He never causes an issue in our clubhouse,” said Hunt. “Never, ever caused an issue.”
“Some of the people were inside,” added Brown. “We don’t want any trouble, so we kicked everybody out. We just shut it down. Then pow, pow, pow and oh my God! We didn’t see it. Once people leave, you can’t control what they do. It’s a sad thing, very unfortunate.”
Some sources say Norwood is affiliated with a known gang in California and that Falana has gang ties in Florida. Minot law enforcement was notified earlier this week of the possibility of gang members en route from Florida to retaliate for Sunday’s shooting. Minot Police said late Friday they had no evidence of the arrival of any gang members from Florida.
“That’s the word we were getting,” said Cpt. John Klug, Minot Police. “If they came up here and caused trouble, that would be gang violence. But we haven’t seen anything or received any more information on it.”
The existence of active “gangs” in Minot is not a belief held by law enforcement. However, says Klug, that does not mean the city is devoid of gang influence.
“I’m not going to say there are full fledged gangs in Minot, but there are members of gangs here committing criminal acts,” said Klug.
Brown, a former resident of Los Angeles, offered his view. “The public’s perception is that gangs are moving in and they say, what is the town coming to? Think about it,” he said. “The jobs are gone. The work is gone. People are leaving, not coming here. It’s not about how you look, but about what you do. That’s why I like it here. That’s exactly why I like it here in North Dakota.
“You guys are maybe getting a taste of the big city and it’s a bitter taste. It’s because it is crime right in your face,” added Hunt, a former Detroit resident. “We are cooperating with police 100 percent. We have no issues in being completely transparent in what we do. We plan charity events. We raise money all year and then make it happen.”