Lattus enters not guilty plea

A former Hickman City Maintenance worker has pled not guilty to charges including official misconduct, tampering with physical evidence, promoting contraband, trafficking in a controlled substance, methamphetamine and bribery of a public servant, following his appearance in Fulton County District Court Dec. 4.

Joseph Benjamin Lattus III of Hickman was arrested Dec. 3, and then lodged in the Fulton County Detention Center. During the Dec. 4 court appearance, John Caudill appeared before Judge Hunter B. Whitesell as the attorney for Lattus.

A pretrial hearing was set for Dec. 18.

The charges stem from a complaint warrant, alleging from Oct. 22 through Nov. 9, Lattus committed the offenses charged by transferring a quantity of methamphetamine to an inmate while in his capacity as a City of Hickman maintenance worker overseeing an inmate work crew.

The complaint goes on to allege Lattus received a $400 wire transfer from the inmate's family as compensation. A search of the sewer plant where Lattus and the work crew operated out of yielded some tobacco, pornographic videos, condoms, empty bottles of Viagra, a syringe with needle removed and a trail camera, later determined to belong to Lattus.

The complaint states Lattus had been interviewed on two occasions, the first when Lattus advised he had accepted $100 cash from an inmate who wanted him to purchase drugs, but Lattus advised he did not purchase drugs for the inmate. Lattus stated he was aware of the inmates on his crew smoking tobacco and using a contraband cell phone, and that he had deleted photographs from the trail camera which showed inmates smoking contraband tobacco and using the contraband cell phone.

Lattus stated, according to the information included in the complaint warrant, that he had taken the inmates out to his family farm on KY 94 as they were looking at deer and dumping some brush, and that the pornographic movies and condoms were his.

Subsequent investigation yielded video of Lattus picking up a $400 wire transfer at WalMart in Union City, Tenn., on Oct. 30 while driving the City of Hickman work crew bus, and the wire transfer was from a family member of the inmate who tested positive for methamphetamine, and who advised that Ben Lattus provided him the methamphetamine.