A 49-year-old Winona man was charged Thursday with murder and assault in the drive-by shooting of two men late at night this week as they stood outside a bar in Winona, Minn.
The alleged shooter had been confronted about where he wanted to park moments before the gunfire erupted, according to the charges.
Ricky D. Waiters was charged in Winona County District Court with second-degree murder, second-degree assault and drive-by shooting in connection with the killing of musician Robert C. Johnson, 53, better known as Bob Johnson, and the wounding of 27-year-old Sean Patrick O'Brien, both of Winona.
Waiters remains jailed in lieu of $5 million bail ahead of his first court appearance on Aug. 4. Court records show Waiters intends to seek a public defender for legal representation.
The shooting occurred shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday behind EB's Corner Bar in the 700 block of W. 5th Street. Johnson, a member of the Winona-based bluegrass-folk band Beet Root Stew, was shot in the chest. O'Brien was wounded in the leg.
Waiters was challenged by one of the people standing behind the bar about where he was parking his SUV because it was too close to a pit for cooking chicken "and everyone knew not to park there," the charges read.
A witness cited in the criminal complaint said that Waiters drove out of the spot, fired at least six shots from a handgun and said, " 'That's what you get for [expletive] with Angel' " or " 'Don't [expletive] with Angel."
Another witness reported hearing something about Hell's Angels from Waiters during the altercation.
Soon after the shooting, officers found Waiters' vehicle parked near his apartment in the 100 block of W. 3rd Street and saw spent shell casings and a gun holster inside the SUV, police said.
Waiters was arrested shortly before 7 a.m. as he was leaving his apartment. A handgun was seized from his residence, the charges read.
Johnson, who played banjo, guitar, mandolin and fiddle in the band, bounced for many years between Winona and working on an oil rig in Alaska. Bandmate Wes McRaven said Johnson was getting ready to retire after 30 years of working in Alaska.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
