A field officer for the federal Bureau of Land Management was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder on claims he choked a man to death in a Lander bar fight.
Fifty-three-year-old Richard “Deak” Dollard’s brother Justin Dollard, 54, and nephew Jesse Dollard, 21, are each also charged with being accessories before the fact to second-degree murder, while Deak Dollard faces the second-degree murder charge.
Each of those charges carries a potential penalty of between 20 years and life in prison. But each man faces an alternate potential charge: manslaughter for Deak Dollard and accessory before manslaughter for Justin and Jesse.
The manslaughter charge and the accessory-before-the-fact charges linked to it are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Deak Dollard’s LinkedIn lists him as a U.S. Bureau of Land Management field staff law enforcement ranger from May 2016 to the present date.
The BLM’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a voicemail request for comment.
Deak’s LinkedIn also says he was a law enforcement officer for the U.S. Forest Service from August 2013 to May 2016, a U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs officer for four years before that and a smokejumper for the Forest Service from 1998 to 2003.
Lander Police Department Chief Kelly Waugh confirmed Wednesday to Cowboy State Daily that Deak Dollard is a BLM officer, and all three men remain in custody.
Court Documents Say …
An evidentiary affidavit by a Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agent, filed Tuesday in Lander Circuit Court, describes a brawl which at one point contained eight to 10 people, unfolding at the Maverick Bar around 11 p.m. Friday.
A 911 caller beckoned Lander Police Department officers to the scene at around 11:15 p.m. The caller indicated “we have someone down at the Maverick Bar, he’s not breathing, he’s all purple,” says the affidavit.
LPD officers arrived and found Evan Denevan, 38, lying on his back near the pool tables with bystanders trying to help him, the document says.
Officers began life-saving measures, but later noted that the man’s face was “slightly purple in color” and they weren’t able to find a carotid pulse. Fremont County emergency medical personnel arrived as well, to help, but “Denevan was determined to be deceased,” says the affidavit.
LPD secured the bar as a crime scene.
Initial witness statements reportedly describe a fight between Denevan and the three Dollard men.
“Deak choked him,” said several witnesses on scene, according to the document.
LPD detectives asked Deak for an interview. He met with detectives, then invoked his right to have an attorney present.
Justin Dollard’s Interview
Justin Dollard in his interview with LPD detectives confirmed he was involved in the fight.
Denevan had previously said he would “whip” Justin, the latter reportedly said, and has threatened to fight both Justin and Jesse Dollard.
Denevan had yelled at the Dollard father and son, “If you come over here I will kick your ass,” the affidavit relates.
Then, according to Justin Dollard’s interview and Jesse Dollard’s separate interview, Denevan removed his hat and glasses as if preparing for a fight.
Justin Dollard told detectives he approached Denevan, who came back and hit him, “and the fight broke out,” the affidavit relates.
Justin reportedly told detectives that Denevan hit him more than he hit Denevan, and that Justin hit Denevan “mostly on top of the head.”
“Justin Dollard denied grabbing or hitting Denevan’s neck,” says the affidavit, adding that Justin described his interaction with Denevan as wrestling, since Denevan was “little and I’m big.”
People started to pull them apart, and Richard Dollard “pulled Denevan back to deescalate the situation,” according to that interview.
“Justin Dollard stated he then saw Denevan on the ground and walked away,” the affidavit says.
Jesse Dollard’s Interview
Jesse Dollard met with detectives and gave his own interview, which aligned with much of what his father had said.
Denevan had been calling Jesse names and challenging him to a fight, the latter reportedly said. Denevan then turned his attention to Justin, removing his hat and glasses before throwing a punch, the document relates.
“Dad gets hot-headed,” Jesse reportedly said, adding that, “Dad went after it.”
Jesse described trying to break the fight apart, and “Uncle Deak” trying to deescalate it, because he’s “trained in deescalation,” the document says.
“Jesse Dollard stated he saw Denevan was not getting back up after the incident,” says the affidavit, adding that the three men left the bar after they started getting death threats.
All These Cameras
LPD asked the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation for help the next day.
DCI Agent Brady Patrick reviewed surveillance video, bystander cellphone video and body-worn camera videos, the affidavit says.
From his review, wrote Patrick, Jesse Dollard became visibly upset and gestured toward Denevan’s location. Jesse Dollard “was then held back by several bar patrons,” after which Justin Dollard approached Denevan as the latter removed his hat and glasses.
The two men “appear to argue,” wrote Patrick. While Denevan motioned toward Jesse Dollard, Justin Dollard shoved Denevan in the chest with both hands, the agent added.
Denevan fell backward against the wall, then advanced toward Justin Dollard as many people tried to separate the pair, reportedly.
The affidavit says Jesse Dollard passed by his father and started punching Denevan as the latter punched back. Bystanders then restrained Jesse, and Justin started punching Denevan, the document adds.
The group of between eight and 10 people kept fighting — as Deak Dollard entered the area, the affidavit says.
Deak Dollard put his left arm around Denevan’s neck and moved him to the side, clasping his hands in what Patrick described as a “rear naked chokehold.”
Deak held the chokehold for 26-27 seconds before appearing to fall toward the opposite wall and release his grip, the affidavit alleges.
During the alleged chokehold, Justin Dollard was pulling on the hood of Denevan’s sweatshirt, which was looped over his head — an act that pulled Denevan’s head and neck in the opposite direction from Deak’s grip, wrote Patrick.
When Deak released Denevan, Denevan fell to the floor, the document says.
Witnesses told investigators Justin Dollard kicked Denevan in the torso while the latter lay on the floor, reportedly.
The three Dollards went back to their original position on the other side of the bar, wrote Patrick, adding that, “None of the Dollards attempted to render aid.”
The affidavit notes that Deak “was determined to be employed as a certified law enforcement officer” during the incident.
In the days that followed, a witness said he or she saw all three Dollard men nod or signal in some fashion to each other in agreement just before the fight erupted, the affidavit concludes.
The Dollards’ court files did not list any defense attorney names as of Wednesday morning.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
