Court filings from Minneapolis man accused of shooting neighbor show pattern of harassment

MINNEAPOLIS — Newly uncovered court documents accuse John Sawchak of a long history of violence.

The documents accuse Sawchak of striking a neighbor with a wooden stick, slashing the tires of a police car and threatening to kill other neighbors. 

Last week, Davis Moturi said he was doing yard work outside his south Minneapolis home when Sawchak shot him.

Sawchak is charged with attempted murder for the shooting Moturi. His bail is set at $1 million. 

Court documents show Sawchak’s issues with neighbors spans nearly a decade.

A request for a restraining order in 2015 is from a mother of three, who lived in the same home where Moturi lives now.

According to one of the documents, the mother wrote “Kids are afraid of sleeping in their rooms or using the restroom by themselves” and “I’m really afraid that something terrible might happen before something is done.”

In the same restraining order, she said, “police told us to keep calling” but “whenever they do come, John is already in his house and they can’t get him.”

In 2016, Carole Megarry filed for a restraining order after she said Sawchak would yell at her and record her.

The now-77-year-old writing at the time, “she was thinking [of] leaving the neighborhood and moving someplace where I do not have to worry about this man.”

“It was definitely intimidating, certainly state of vigilance always looking and listening,” Megarry said.

Instead of leaving, she adapted.

In 2022, things took a violent turn when she let her dog out.

“He came after me with a piece of lumbar about 4 inches long. He was yelling at me and chasing,” Megarry recalled. “I was afraid I could have been killed.”

Since that time, Megarry said she’s avoided Sawchak, going as far as not even walking in the alley of her home.

Neighbors said they are upset with how police handled the situation and how they let this situation with Sawchak go unnoticed.

Megarry said many neighbors knew not to engage with him and just ignore him.

While Sawchak’s home remains boarded up, neighbors like Megarry say they feel safer knowing he’s in custody, but at the same time, uneasy.

On Friday, the Minneapolis NAACP said dereliction of duty led to the shooting and wants a sincere apology from Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara and Mayor Jacob Frey. Minneapolis public information officers say O’Hara already did that during a press conference this week.