Minneapolis man suspected of shooting neighbor over tree arrested

“We failed this victim,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Sunday evening. “He shouldn’t have been shot.”

A Minnesota man suspected of shooting his neighbor while cutting down a tree was arrested and charged early Monday morning. His neighbor reported him to police several times before the shooting, officials say.

The suspect, John Herbert Sawchak, 54, allegedly shot his neighbor, Davis Moturi, from his Minneapolis home on Oct. 23 while the victim was sawing a tree.

According to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, the victim reported Sawchak several times, including after Sawchak allegedly threatened to shoot the victim if he touched the same tree he was cutting down when the shooting occurred Wednesday.

When Moturi’s wife arrived home, she thought her husband had had a heart attack and emergency medical services took him to the hospital, O’Hara said. during a press conference Friday.

There, medical personnel discovered he had been shot.

The victim had no memory of what happened before he was found unconscious, including being shot, O’Hara said. There were no witnesses present at the time of the shooting.

USA TODAY contacted Minneapolis police. Sergeant Garrett Parten confirmed the victim’s name and referred USA TODAY to the press conference on YouTube for the latest information.

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Suspect arrested days later

Sawchak was peacefully arrested Monday morning after a SWAT operation that lasted several hours.

“The Minneapolis Police Department has exhausted all our efforts to resolve the situation peacefully (prior to) escalating the use of force with a SWAT team and special tactics,” O’Hara said.

Sawchak was charged with the following crimes, according to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department:

Second degree attempted murder
First degree assault
Stalking
Intimidation

The suspect is being held on $1 million bail and will appear in court Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., according to department arrest records.

The police chief apologizes

The victim had also reported the incident to his neighbor several times and called 911 several times about Sawchak prior to the shooting. He also previously reported his neighbor when he threatened to shoot him if he touched a specific tree, O’Hara said.

“We failed this victim,” O’Hara said Sunday evening. “He shouldn’t have been shot.”

When police responded to the calls, Sawchak refused to open the door and speak to officers, O’Hara said.

A lieutenant had gone to the suspect’s house more than twenty times. The number does not include the times other officers were called to the address.

This led to the lieutenant giving his phone number to the victim, O’Hara said. The lieutenant asked the victim to call him when he saw Sawchak leaving his home.

High risk command

Before Sunday evening, police were concerned about an altercation and wanted to arrest the suspect because he did not have access to his firearms, but O’Hara said the man was a “recluse” and did not leave his home often.

The suspect, who O’Hara said was “mentally ill,” was known to have firearms, had a history of violent confrontations and refused to cooperate “on the dozens of occasions that police officers responded to the residence.”

The execution of the arrest warrant was considered ‘high risk’.

“Based on our assessment, the likelihood of an armed, violent confrontation that may require us to use deadly force with the suspect in this case is high,” O’Hara said during a news conference Friday. “Before Wednesday, all we had was a threat order.”