Prosecutors claim that a Fremont County BLM law enforcement officer accused of killing another man during a January bar fight didn’t act responsibly to protect others, and instead “advances like a predator” before applying a deadly chokehold.
That characterization of how Richard “Deak” Dollard acted on the evening of Jan. 9 during a brawl at the Maverick Bar in Lander is included in a Thursday prosecution response to a motion from Dollard’s attorney to dismiss the second-degree murder charge he faces.
The June 8 motion filed by Casper-based defense attorney Ryan Semerad argues Richard Dollard can’t be prosecuted “for his proper use of reasonable defensive force to protect others.”
Those others include Dollard’s brother, Justin, and nephew, Jesse, who were both involved in a physical fight with 38-year-old Evan Denevan.
Denevan was fighting with Justin when Richard came into the room and pulled Denevan off his brother, putting him in a restraining hold that prosecutors refer to as a “chokehold” in court documents, but the defense adamantly denies any choking pressure was applied.
What both sides seem to agree on is what was captured on multiple cellphone videos and bar surveillance is Richard holding Denevan around his face and neck area for about 30 seconds, then putting him on the floor.
He died at the scene, according to court documents.
In his motion to dismiss, Semerad argues that Denevan was the aggressor and that Richard acted calmly and with restraint to protect his brother and others from danger.
Only after someone at the bar called out multiple times for Denevan to stop “did Richard step in, taking hold of Evan to pull him away from Justin, the woman, and the crowd of bar patrons standing within punching distance,” the motion to dismiss says.
“I don’t believe my client was angry or emotional,” Semerad told Cowboy State Daily on Friday. “I think he saw the situation and his mentality was not anger or emotion, it was, ‘How do I protect everyone in this situation from being hurt.’”
That’s not what the evidence and witnesses show, prosecutors allege in their response.
“The defendant advances like a predator — he appears to know his goal when he enters the room and he advances unchecked upon the same,” according to the response. “He advances intentionally and deliberately.”
Semerad called the description of his client as a “predator” in the response as “pure rhetoric” and an attempt to “try to characterize this encounter” as something it wasn’t.
‘Reasonable Force’
That Richard Dollard only applied a non-lethal hold on Denevan is clearly “not the case” based on video and other evidence, prosecutors say. Most notably, if the hold was non-lethal, why did he die?
“Although the defendant’s claim is that he gripped the decedent in a non-lethal hold meant to control the situation, the video makes it quite clear that this is not the case,” the response to the motion to dismiss says.
“The hold is lethal by self-definition of the circumstances,” the document adds.
Conversely, Semerad said it’s murky at best about what caused Denevan to die that night, as there were other potential health issues that may have contributed to his death.
“There seems to be some kind of disconnect” in what really caused his death, Semerad said. “He perceived the decedent attacking his brother … and there were people in harm’s way.
“He came over to protect everybody with the use of reasonable force.”
That Night
An evidentiary affidavit by a Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agent filed days after the incident 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. on Jan. 9.
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 Denevan 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.
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 had 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’s interview and Jesse’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.
Along with Richard facing a charge of second-degree murder, Justin has been charged with accessory before the fact to second-degree murder, and Jesse with accessory before the fact to manslaughter.
If convicted, Richard and Justin face 20 years to life in prison, while Jesse could get a maximum of 20 years in prison.
All three have been set for a combined trial that’s scheduled for eight days beginning Nov. 2.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
