Wake man accused in Durham bar-fight death is out of jail again. What the DA is doing

A Wake County man re-arrested while out of jail on a pending murder charge was only behind bars on hid new charges for a day before posting bond again.

Daniel Peter Mohar, 37, was charged with first-degree murder in June 2019 after he struck Edward “Teddy” Tivnan, 49, in an altercation involving a woman at a Durham bar, according to court records. Tivnan died two days later.

Mohar was released from jail that July after bail, initially denied, was set at $250,000, a move that angered Tivnan’s family.

Mohar was jailed again on Dec. 1 of this year, accused of violating pretrial conditions after being charged Nov. 21 in Orange County with driving while impaired, speeding, reckless driving and failing to comply with driver’s license restrictions.

He was allowed to post a $5,000 bail bond on the new charges.

The Durham County District Attorney’s Office wants him in jail.

In October, prosecutors filed a motion to have his bond on the murder charge revoked and to have Mohar returned to jail before a March 2022 court date.

Months after being released in 2019, Mohar and his wife bought and moved to a home in Cleveland, Ohio, court filings obtained by The News & Observer say.

Prosecutors said this violated the conditions of his $250,000 bond and called him a “substantial flight risk.”

Mohar’s attorney defended his client, claiming in court documents that Mohar and his family moved because they felt threatened by Tivnan’s family.

A judge denied this motion and upheld the original pretrial release conditions: that Mohar remain in North Carolina and enroll in electronic monitoring. Violations would result in him being held without bail.

Although Mohar obtained the recent charges while on pretrial release, the District Attorney’s Office agreed to a bond being set for those charges.

But the suspect may yet face jail before trial.

Durham County DA’s next move

A spokeswoman for DA Satana Deberry said the office agreed to the $5,000 bond on the new charges because prosecutors had already filed a second motion for bond revocation. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 13.

Tivnan’s family is angry he is out on bail now.

“[Mohar] was given the opportunity to do the right thing,” said Paul Tivnan, the brother of the man who died, in an interview.

“He violated his release conditions and then he violated them yet again,” Tivnan said. “It was only a matter of time before something like this happened. Those [new] charges just shows his level of threat ... his level of danger to society.”

Initial Durham murder charge

Tivnan’s head hit the sidewalk after Mohar headbutted him outside of Social Games and Brews, near Brightleaf Square, according to warrants.

Police found Tivnan unresponsive.

According to warrants, a woman said Tivnan “came on to her very strong which made her feel uncomfortable,” The N&O previously reported. Mohar, her friend, approached Tivnan asking, “Did you call her a tramp?”

He then headbutted him in the forehead, according to warrants, before pushing him to the ground and punching him repeatedly.

At the time, Mohar already had been convicted of at least three misdemeanors, according to the Department of Public Safety, including a 2011 charge of misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon.

A prosecutor said in court after his arrest that Mohar had been charged with assault numerous times but that most were dismissed, The N&O’s newsgathering partner ABC11 reported.

“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 in 2019.

The Durham Report

Calling Bull City readers! We've launched The Durham Report, a free weekly digest of some of the top stories for and about Durham published in The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun. Get your newsletter delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday at 11 a.m. featuring links to stories by our local journalists. Sign up for our newsletter here. For even more Durham-focused news and conversation, join our Facebook group "The Story of my Street."