Virginia State Police: Man threatened to defecate on slain police officer's gravesite
WINTERGREEN — Virginia State Police are searching for a man after he reportedly phoned a dispatcher and threatened to defecate on a slain police officer's gravesite, court records show.
The call was in reference to the killing of Officer Christopher Wagner II. The 31-year-old police officer was shot to death June 16 during a struggle over his department-issued handgun while responding to a disturbance on Arrowwood Lane. Wagner was a Stuarts Draft resident.
A suspect, 23-year-old Daniel A. Barmak of Owings Mills, Maryland, is charged with aggravated murder of a law enforcement officer, malicious wounding, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
In an affidavit for a search warrant, a Virginia State Police senior special agent said a man called the non-emergency line at the Wintergreen Police Department the night of Feb. 17. The man used "vulgar and profane language in a threatening manner" while talking to a dispatcher, the affidavit said.
During the rant, the caller asked for directions to Wagner's gravesite "so he could defecate on it," according to the affidavit.
"Before the call was terminated the callers' voice increased in rate, pitch and volume and became generally threatening in nature," the agent wrote in the affidavit.
The affidavit requested a search warrant for the suspect's phone records in an effort to determine his whereabouts before and after the call, the affidavit said. "Your Affiant also believes this information will help to identify if additional phone calls were made to other emergency services dispatch centers," the affidavit states.
On Tuesday, Virginia State Police said the investigation into the phone call is ongoing and no charges have been filed.
According to evidence presented at Barmak's preliminary hearing in January, he was in Wintergreen with two friends for a weekend of golf, hiking and remote work. The first night of the trip was uneventful, but after a two-day binge where he allegedly snorted more than 20 lines of ketamine, an anesthetic, Barmak — who reportedly also brought along a large bag of psychedelic mushrooms — became erratic the night of June 16, according to testimony. Witnesses said besides the ketamine, Barmak ingested the mushrooms, drank alcohol and also smoked marijuana.
After exhibiting strange behaviors, Barmak reportedly attacked his friends, knifing one and hitting the other in the head with a log, testimony showed. When Wagner arrived on the scene he confronted Barmak, who was nude at this point, behind the home. Barmak became aggressive, resulting in Wagner using his Taser in an attempt to subdue him, but testimony showed it barely slowed him.
Images obtained from Wagner's body-worn video camera showed a naked Barmak allegedly initiating the attack outside of the residence, according to an affidavit filed in Albemarle County Circuit Court. During the struggle, Wagner screamed, "He's trying to get my gun!" The officer yelled for help numerous times, court records indicate.
A police officer testified he found Wagner with what he said was "obviously a gunshot wound to the head."
Barmak was also shot in the leg.
Prior to his arrest, court records show Barmak worked in the insurance industry earning between $50,000 and $70,000 per year. He is listed at six feet, four inches tall and weighs 220 pounds.
Barmak remains at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.
Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter).
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: VSP: Man threatened to defecate on slain officer's gravesite
