Officer slaying suspect had violent criminal history; wanted for violating probation on gun charge
Latanowich, according to officials and news reports, has an extensive adult criminal history that generated 28 cases against him in Barnstable District Court alone. His record also includes a four-year state prison term, and he has more than 110 entries on his criminal history.
Many of the district court cases, which date back to 2005, were dismissed. Sometimes the cases were dismissed when the victim refused to go forward, and in at least two cases he was found not guilty by a judge, a Globe review of the Barnstable District Court records indicates.
The suspect got bench trials. Cases were dismissed.But the case that led Gannon to Blueberry Lane dates back to 2009, when Latanowich was arrested by two Cape Cod police departments, leading to illegal gun possession and drug charges. The two incidents were combined into one when he pleaded guilty in Barnstable Superior Court in 2010 and was given a five-year sentence — with credit for 203 days jailed awaiting trial.
Suspect in officer’s slaying was arrested once a year over last 4 years
Here are three firearm-related charges that preceded the perp's violence charges.
OTHERJuly 2009
He was charged in July 2009 with two counts of possessing a firearm without an FID card. Both charges were kicked up to Superior Court after indictment. The resolution of that case wasn’t immediately available.
OTHERDecember 2008
He was charged in December 2008 with improper firearm storage, carrying a gun without an FID card, and defacing a serial number on a firearm. He was acquitted after a bench trial.
Man charged with killing Yarmouth officer may have fled police in Everett last weekOTHERMay 2008
He was charged in May 2008 with two counts of carrying a gun without an FID card, one count of unlawful storage of a firearm, and one count of violating a firearm surrender order. He pleaded guilty to all charges except the storage count, which was dropped. Court records show he received a prison sentence, but the precise term wasn’t immediately available.
One of his many brushes with the law is believed to have occurred on April 3, when a state trooper tried to pull over a car authorities think was driven by Latanowich on Route 1 northbound shortly before 4:30 p.m., according to State Police.