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Police mum on bar patron wielding knife

Staff writer

Marion police aren’t offering details about a call last week in which a patron at Taco’s Food Truck at That One Place, 1018 E. Main St., was reported to be “making horrible threats and wielding a knife.”

No arrests were made, and no offense reports were released.

However, monitored transmissions indicate that the incident involved the same person who was accused Feb. 5 of threatening to “shoot up” the Marion VFW post.

All police would say in their weekly summary of activities was: “Officers responded to a disturbance, individual was trespassed from business.”

Repeated calls and messages asking for clarification were not returned.

According to monitored transmissions, one of the owners of the combination food truck and beer bar contacted police shortly after the suspect left, most likely on foot, with a group of dogs around 7:45 p.m. March 9.

Dispatchers said they were told a verbal dispute between the suspect and his girl friend preceded the incident.

Sheriff’s deputy Joel Womochil was at Casey’s General Store next door to the bar at the time but said he noticed nothing.

Marion officer Aaron Slater went to the bar. Another sheriff’s deputy, Matthew Regier, volunteered to stand by outside.

“We’re going to have to go over to his residence on Freeborn,” Slater radioed to Regier afterward.

Regier responded: “I’ll just make sure he’s not going into any of these other businesses.”

Regier then went to D&J Liquor, two blocks away at 1202 E. Main St., to check whether the suspect was there.

“We could 10-15 (arrest) him if I see him,” Regier radioed.

Slater responded: “Go ahead and detain him for sure.”

The suspect, identified as Zachary S. Dvorak, 24, apparently was not present at the liquor store.

The officers then headed for a rental house in the 200 block of S. Freeborn St. Regier was stationed in an alley behind the house while Slater and Womochil approached the front door.

Shortly after the officers left the residence without finding the suspect, a worker at D&J telephoned dispatchers to say Dvorak had just left the liquor store, heading west on Main St. in a black pickup.

A few minutes later, Regier spotted and stopped a truck matching the description heading north on Cedar St. toward US-56.

“We still have enough to detain him or not?” Regier asked Slater.

Slater replied: “Yeah, at the very least I need to tell him that he trespassed.”

The three officers met at the traffic stop but determined that the vehicle had not been involved.

The three then headed back to the residence and noted that a vehicle had appeared there.

Thirteen minutes later, the officers left the residence without explanation.

No additional references to the incident appear in the activity log released by the department.

In the earlier incident, Dvorak, who at the time listed his address as Galva, was booked into Marion County Jail on suspicion of aggravated criminal threat, interference with law enforcement, and battery of a law enforcement officer in addition to being wanted on a McPherson municipal court warrant for failure to appear in court.

Slater, who also was called to the Feb. 5 incident, said at the time that Dvorak put up so much resistance that he had to call Womochil and Regier to help get Dvorak into a squad car — a process that took about 15 minutes, police chief Clinton Jeffrey said at the time.

Dvorak was released the next day on $11,000 bond.

He previously was jailed Nov. 28 on suspicion of driving under the influence, operating a vehicle without a required sobriety interlock, and violating probation. He also was jailed May 13 to 15, 2018, on suspicion of domestic battery.

Last modified March 17, 2022

 

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