Thumb killed in shooting at Rindy's Bar

Shortly after 7 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19, law enforcement responded to a shooting at Rindy's Bar in Sheyenne, N.D. that left one man dead.

The victim was identifed Monday as 30-year-old Troyal Thumb of Sheyenne.

On Wednesday, Feb. 22, 45-year-old Nicholas Poitra, the man authorities allege shot and killed Thumb, was taken into custody after a 65-hour-long multi-agency manhunt.

Eddy County Sheriff Paul Lies said Poitra was discovered at around noon on Wednesday on County Road 12 in Eddy County, between 27th and 26th Street.

Lies said a farmer saw him walking and held him at gunpoint until law enforcement arrived. After his arrest, Poitra was transported to the Lake Region Law Enforcement Center in Devils Lake, N.D.

Poitra is charged with AA Felony murder, as well as robbery with a firearm (a Class B felony), seven counts of terrorizing with a dangerous weapon (each a Class C felony), and unlawful possession of a firearm, also a Class C felony.

According to court documents, Poitra shot one man inside the bar, identified as Troyal Thumb, in the head using a short-barrelled shotgun after an argument took place.

After the shooting, court documents say Poitra pointed his weapon at seven other individuals inside the bar, including a child, and forced them to hand over cell phones and a set of car keys.

The documents allege Poitra used the keys to leave the scene in a 2013 Ford Explorer after grabbing the bar's security footage on his way out.

The vehicle was later found in a ditch next to a farmhouse in Wells County, said Lies, and that on Monday, Feb. 20, the Devils Lake regional SWAT team cleared the residence, which appeared to be recently broken into by Poitra. The suspect, however, was nowhere to be found, and was believed to have armed himself even further.

"The suspect of the homicide, Nicholas Poitra, is believed to have entered the farmhouse which contained numerous firearms," stated Lies on Tuesday. " . . . It appears to investigators that Nicholas Poitra did go through the firearms inside the house, it is unknown at this time how many were taken."

Luckily for the homeowners, Lies said they happened to be out of town for a medical appointment while their home was breached.

The Eddy County Sheriff's Department worked in cooperation with the N.D. Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the FBI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the sheriff's departments in Benson, Ramsey and Wells counties and the Devils Lake regional SWAT team.

A visitation for Troyal Thumb, a single father to three children, will take place at the Crow Hill Wellness Center in Fort Totten, N.D. on Monday, Feb. 27 at 5 p.m., followed by a prayer service at 7 p.m.

Thumb's funeral service will be held the following day, on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 10 a.m., also at the Crow Hill Wellness Center, and his burial will be at the St. Jerome's Catholic Cemetery in Fort Totten at a later date.