NC man charged with murder after bar assault. Did some police interviews go missing?
The trial of a man charged with murder after a deadly bar fight began this week with questions about a missing police interview with a witness.
Daniel Mohar was charged with murder after a June 2019 bar fight outside a Durham night club near downtown.
Mohar was charged with first-degree murder after witnesses reported seeing a man hit another man, who fell and hit his head on the sidewalk outside the now closed Social Games and Brews, according to court documents.
Teddy Tivnan, 49, a father of three, died two days later.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Wallace said that while Mohar was indicted on first-degree murder, prosecutors are pursuing a second-degree murder charge against him.
The charge requires that prosecutors prove Mohar killed Tivnan with malice. The jury could also consider voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, depending on the facts of the case.
Before jury selection began Monday, defense attorneys Emilia Beskind and Bill Thomas asked the judge to dismiss the murder charge against their client because police did not disclose interviews with two of the handful of witnesses slated to testify.
Defendants have a constitutional right to review the evidence from a criminal investigation, including notes and recordings from police interviews.
Beskind said the events hinder Mohar’s defense because the missing witness statements could undercut the malice argument.
Beskind said as private counsel she had the resources and a little bit of luck while digging to learn about the undocumented interviews, but they could have been missed by public defenders with less time and resources.
“If you do not sanction this behavior, it will happen again and the next lawyer will not see it,” she said.
Superior Court Judge Josephine Kerr Davis denied the request to dismiss the murder charge, and Mohar’s other request to prevent the witnesses from testifying. She said she will allow instructions to be read to the jury about the two missing interviews.
The judge also granted a request to bar Tivnan’s brother from wearing his sheriff’s office uniform in the courtroom during the trial. She also won’t allow prosecutors to disclose that the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.
Jury selection, which started Monday, continued Tuesday. The trial is expected to take one to two weeks.
The fight
In search warrants and in court, police and prosecutors outlined a killing that grew out of Tivnan’s interaction with a woman who said he came on to her and made her feel uncomfortable around 10 p.m. that June evening.
Mohar then came around the corner as Tivnan walked away, states a search warrant in the case
“Did you call her a tramp?” Mohar asked Tivnan, according to the warrant, which indicated some of the fight was caught on video.
Mohar then headbutted Tivnan in the forehead, according to the warrant. Tivnan fell to the ground, out of the view of the camera.
The warrant goes on to state that several more punches are heard on the video before Tivnan’s head hits the sidewalk.
On Monday, Wallace said he watched the video several times and no longer believes Mohar hit Tivnan several times before he hit the ground. Mohar headbutted Tivnan, hit him and then Tivnan fell, Wallace said Monday.
Concerns about police statements
Police initially had statements from three people who saw the fight.
Beskind said prosecutors interviewed Leighton Lopez on March 4, 2022, and she criticized prosecutors’ note taking, saying the interview should have been recorded. Initially, everyone thought this was the first interview with Lopez, so it was key, Beskind said.
A note from police, however, said an officer contacted Lopez days after the killing, and Lopez hung up after a brief conversation, Beskind said
Members of Mohar’s defense team interviewed Lopez on March 14.
Lopez told them and repeated in court Monday that in the days after the killing he went to the Durham Police Department and was interviewed by an officer.
Lopez described parking at the police station and being interviewed for 20 or 30 minutes by an officer in a small room on the second or third floor.
Detective J.M. Mitchell, who said he doesn’t recall interviewing Lopez, testified that the Durham Police Department has interview rooms that are recording constantly.
Wallace said he asked police officials to search for the interview, but they couldn’t find it.
In addition, prosecutors initially said Lopez made the call to 911. Lopez said he doesn’t remember calling 911. Wallace said he now believes another witness made the call.
Beskind said another witness indicated he was interviewed an additional time by police that wasn’t documented. However that witness testified Monday that he didn’t remember the undocumented interview.
Previous arrests
After Mohar’s initial arrest, a prosecutor said in court he had been charged with assault numerous times previously but that most of the charges were dismissed, reported ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner.
“There are multiple individuals who have called our office to express that Mr. Mohar has a history of assaultive conduct,” Assistant District Attorney Daniel Spiegel said then.
Tivnan was a recently divorced father with three daughters, ages 17 to 30, his brother Paul told The N&O in 2019.
The two brothers were close growing up, Paul Tivnan said, recalling Teddy taking apart Paul’s crib when he was a baby so they could play together.
Teddy Tivnan was a hard worker who always provided for his family, Paul Tivnan said.
“He was very outgoing,” his brother said. “Not a mean spirited bone in his body. He never met a stranger. He was always just a likable person.”
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 4:09 PM.
