Case dismissed for Columbia man accused in hammer attack
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The case against a Columbia man who was accused of using a hammer to attack a man near Stephens Lake Park in 2022 has been dismissed, according to an email from Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson.
Daniel Dwyer, 53, of Columbia, was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. His case was dismissed on April 5, according to Johnson. A mistrial was declared in January.
“Unfortunately, the victim was not cooperative, and the State was not able to locate him to have him testify. Without the victim, the jury deliberated but was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, and the Court declared a mistrial. The State intended to re-try the case, but the victim has remained uncooperative, and we do not anticipate him appearing for retrial,” Johnson wrote in a Tuesday email to ABC 17 News. “We cannot successfully prosecute this case without the victim. There were other witnesses, but they did not provide statements to law enforcement, and no other witnesses were able to be located by our office. The State always has the burden to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt, and the victim’s testimony would be necessary to do that in this case.”
According to previous reporting, in June 2022, EMS responded to Lions-Stephens Park for a man that was face down under a shelter house near Windsor Street. A tip to CrimeStoppers indicated that a person named “Danny” had hurt an individual at Stephens Lake Park on Sunday with a hammer. The tip said that Danny lived close to the park, according to previous reporting
According to previous reporting, the victim allegedly told investigators that he was sitting at the park with four other people, including Dwyer. The victim claimed he was smoking marijuana with the four others when everything went blank and he woke up at the hospital, according to court documents from previous reporting.
According to court documents in previous reporting, police spoke with Dwyer’s roommate, who claimed he asked her if he could borrow a hammer and told her that he was leaving to help a homeless friend.
