A man from Columbia with a criminal record has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the brutal assault and stomping of a man in downtown Columbia in June 2025.
939 the Eagle was in Boone County Circuit Court on Monday morning, when Judge Brouck Jacobs sentenced 55-year-old Daniel Wayne Dwyer. Prosecutors told Judge Jacobs that Dwyer attacks homeless people and preys on the most vulnerable. Prosecutors describe the incident as heinous.
A jury convicted Dwyer in July of first degree assault or attempted assault. Prosecutors say Dwyer knocked the victim unconscious and then stomped on his head in June 2025 near Fourth and Locust downtown, and at least one police officer saw the end of the assault. Blood was seen coming from the victim’s eyes, according to testimony.
Dwyer delivered a rambling statement in court, telling Judge Jacobs that the man stole from him and “was sent by the police.” Defense attorney Kevin O’Brien requested a five-year prison sentence, noting prosecutors were unable to locate the homeless victim. Counselor O’Brien says the jury’s verdict violated Dwyer’s due process.
O’Brien also alleged in open court that the Boone County prosecutor’s office is waging a war against the homeless. Judge Jacobs denied Counselor O’Brien’s three-page motion for a new trial.
Dwyer has a previous conviction for first degree assault in northwest Missouri’s Buchanan County and served 18 years in prison for that, according to Boone County prosecutors.