Lattin to Appear in District Court

by Leanna Lehman --  Wesley Austin Lattin was scheduled to appear in Justice Court  before Judge Ben Trotter on Thursday, February 27th. Deputies escorted the recently apprehended fugitive into the Justice Courtroom for a status hearing on a Failure to Appear (FTA) charge of which he was arraigned on two days prior. Lattin elected to waive his status hearing and be heard in District Court. On Tuesday, March 3rd, Judge Tom Stockard, District Court Judge for the Tenth Judicial District, will address both the original charges against Lattin, as well as those relating to his Failure to Appear. The four charges against Lattin in the August 2005 jury trial include one count of sexual assault on a child under the age of 16, and three counts of open or gross lewdness. All four charges occurred during the time between November of 2002 and April of 2003. Appointed a public defender during his arraignment earlier last week by Judge Trotter, Lattin briefly met with Sean Neahusan Esq., from Charles Woodman's office in Reno. According to Neahusan, Charles Woodman will personally appear in District Court on Tuesday as it is likely that Judge Stockard will also appoint Woodman as Lattin’s public defender if he does not retain his own counsel. Residents in the Tarzyn Road area believe they may have seen Lattin in 2018 walking down Tarzyn Road near the Wolf Ranch. Neighbors of Dan and Julie Wolf reported seeing an older man walking down Tarzyn Road carrying what appeared to be a shotgun or rifle. With children and livestock in the area, they urged each other to lock their doors and take caution. However, no disturbances followed, and the siting of the unfamiliar passerby was unreported. More details regarding Lattin and how he avoided apprehension for a decade and a half will become clear as more information becomes available. Former New River Township Justice of the Peace, Daniel Ward, was disciplined in 2005 for interfering in Lattin's case by initially refusing to sign his arrest warrant, holding a preliminary hearing without notice, and conspiring to keep the press from covering the proceedings. Lattin was arrested by the Churchill County Sheriff's office on February 21, 2020 after Sheriff Richard Hickcox, with the assistance of the Sparks SWAT team, responded to a report from the U.S. Marshall’s office that Lattin was suspected to be living in a bunker at his sister’s house off Tarzyn Road, approximately four miles north of Fallon.       Sign up to receive updates and the Friday File email notices. Support local, independent news – contribute to The Fallon Post, your non-profit (501c3) online news source for all things Fallon.