A Minneapolis man charged with attempted murder remains at large despite multiple warrants for his arrest.
John Herbert Sawchak, 54, faces a new warrant connected to alleged offenses against his neighbor, Davis Moturi. This time, the warrant includes attempted murder charges after Sawchak allegedly shot Moturi in the neck, NBC News reported.
On Wednesday, Moturi was trimming a tree on his property when Sawchak allegedly shot him from an upstairs window, hitting him in the neck.
Moturi’s wife, Caroline, told NBC News by phone on Saturday that the incident left her husband with a fractured spine, two broken ribs, and a concussion.
Police Chief Brian O’Hara addressed the media, saying officers responded to the hospital following a report of a gunshot victim. Moturi told police his neighbor had threatened to shoot him “if he touched a specific tree.” While he was cutting the tree, he was shot.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office received the case on Thursday, filing charges against Sawchak for attempted murder, first-degree assault, and felony harassment and stalking, with enhancements for racial bias. Moturi is Black.
At the time of the shooting, Sawchak had three active warrants, including one for a prior violent threat against Moturi, according to NBC News.
Outrage has grown over Sawchak’s continued absence from custody.
Court documents describe Sawchak as “mentally ill” with “paranoid personality disorder” and note he has multiple firearms.
Police Chief O’Hara said authorities aim to avoid a violent arrest, noting the high-risk nature of executing the warrant. “We’ve been working to arrest the suspect in this case since at least April when harassment charges were first declined by the county attorney and then filed with the city attorney,” O’Hara told reporters.
“Based on our assessment, the likelihood of an armed, violent confrontation where we may have to use deadly force with the suspect is high,” he added. “We aim to arrest him outside the residence where he is least likely to access firearms.”
Sawchak, characterized as a “recluse” who rarely leaves his home, remains at large. A police representative could not specify when the arrest might occur
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