Bagley man gets charged in Saturday slaying

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

Nov. 16, 1999

By Devlyn Brooks

A 19-year-old Bagley man was charged Monday in Clearwater County District Court with second-degree manslaughter for shooting and killing another man after being told he was too drunk to hunt.

James Lee Hvezda was charged with killing Anthony James Dvoark, 39, of Bagley about 9 a.m. Saturday, according to a complaint filed by Clearwater County Attorney Kip Fontaine.

Hvezda's bail was set at $20,000 and his next court appearance was set for 1 p.m. Nov. 29.

Hvezda is accused of shooting Dvorak, minutes after Hvezda's dad told him he could not take a .30-.30 lever-action rifle hunting because he was too drunk. The shooting took place at a residence owned by Hvezda's father about 13 miles southwest of Bagley in rural north La Prairie Township in southwestern Clearwater County.

According to the criminal complaint, Delmer Hvezda -- the suspect's father -- said he wouldn't allow his son to leave with the rifle to go hunting because he was drunk. After telling his son no, Delmer Hvezda went to take a shower.

When he was getting out of the shower, he heard the gun discharge and his son screaming, "Dad, the gun went off! Dad, the gun went off!"

Dvorak was shot in the head while sitting in a chair in the kitchen area of the Hvezda home. He was dead when a Clearwater County sherrif's deputy responded to the call shortly after 9 a.m.

According to the complaint, later on Saturday, James Hvezda told a Bagley police officer who was transporting him to the Clearwater County Law Enforcement Center, "I didn't mean to shoot no one" and "It just went off."

The officer also said Hvezda smelled strongly of alcohol.

If convicted of second-degree manslaughter, Hvezda faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $20,000 fine or both.

Funeral services will be held for Dvorak at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Sports Complex in Nay-Tah-Waush, with a wake beginning 4 p.m. today and continuing until the time of the service at the Sports Complex.

Dvorak, born in 1960 in Minneapolis, attended school there and joined the U.S. Army in 1978, serving two years in the infantry.

After that he worked various jobs including casino work. He moved to Cass Lake in 1982 and the last few years he lived in Bagley.

He is survived by his parents, Hallie and Philomene Dvorak, of Bagley; a former wife, Mary Dvorak, of Cass Lake; a son, Anthony James Dvorak Jr., of Cass Lake; a daughter, Melissa M. Dvorak, of Cass Lake; two grandchildren; and six sisters.