Cedar Rapids Weather
New Details Emerge in Incident at Cedar Rapids NightclubBy Jeff Raasch
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Safety concerns and conflicting information guided a decision to keep police officers away from a Cedar Rapids nightclub where gunshots were reported early Saturday morning, police said.
Police surrounded Kumbala, 1323 First Ave. SE, around 4 a.m. after a woman called 911 from a bathroom and said shots had been fired inside the business. Police eventually recovered two guns and crack cocaine, but did not find any evidence that shots were fired, according to Sgt. Cristy Hamblin. No one was injured in the incident. According to a search warrant filed Monday, a fight between two men broke out inside the nightclub and a gun was displayed. The owner of Kumbala, 25-year-old Edgar Haynes Jr., later told police he scuffled with the men, got the gun away and took it to the kitchen area. The first officers to arrive saw several people running out of a west door of the nightclub, but then found the doors locked. Despite the report of gunshots, officers got conflicting information about what was truly happening from the customers who had come outside, police said. At that point, there was no evidence to suggest that anyone was hurt, Sgt. Joe Clark said. Police decided to set up a perimeter to control access to the area, which included shutting down part of First Avenue East. Available officers were called to the scene and were cautioned to stay out of the line of fire, according to archived police radio traffic. “When there’s no idea how many people are involved, and we’re not sure what’s going on in there, it’s the prudent thing to do to set up a perimeter,” Clark said. Officers in SWAT gear arrived to the business about an hour after the original call, according to police dispatch logs. At that point, an employee let the police in to conduct the search, Clark said. By that time, officers had obtained a search warrant. Clark said Kumbala is run as a private club, and falls under the same rules as a private residence. A police search without a warrant runs the risk of a lawsuit, he said. “Our hands were basically tied, at that point,” Clark said. Hamblin said police consider many factors when deciding the best way to handle situations like the one at Kumbala, including the safety of everyone involved, indications of someone in need of help and whether evidence could easily be destroyed. “When we go to any kind of gun call, you don’t see us running into the thick of it, and that’s because we want to know where the shooter is first,” Hamblin said. Police said a 16-year-old boy who came out of Kumbala was not involved in the original fight, but was seen trying to hide a handgun. The boy, whose name has not been released, also had crack cocaine in his possession, police said. Robert Diaz, 51, also was arrested for carrying a large knife inside the club. Another man was charged with interference with official acts. Officers later found semi-automatic handgun on the floor behind the bar, and a glass pipe used to smoke marijuana underneath a sink in the women’s restroom, according to the search warrant. Haynes has not been charged with a crime in the incident at Kumbala. He made headlines in early August when he and three other men were charged with bootlegging at Club Xclusive, which he operated from a house, 713 Third Ave. SE. Attempts to reach Haynes for comment have been unsuccessful. Police said the investigation into Saturday’s incident is continuing. More Good Stuff |
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