— Photo courtesy of Yarmouth Police Dept.

By Jim Clark

A Somerville man, Thomas Latanowich, was placed under arrest for allegedly shooting and killing a Yarmouth police officer on Thursday while police conducted a search warrant raid at a Marstons Mills location.

The K-9 officer, Sean Gannon, were involved in the search when Latanowich reportedly opened fire, killing Gannon with a shot to the head, and wounding the police dog, Nero.
A brief standoff followed before Latanowich surrendered to police.

Latanowich was subsequently taken to jail and charged with the murder of Gannon and the wounding of the K-9 unit dog. He was arraigned in the First District Court of Barnstable on Friday, where he plead not guilty to the charges. He was ordered held without bail.

According to reports, Latanowich is regarded as a “career criminal” by authorities, having been convicted of more than 100 violent crimes over the years. He was serving a 5 year term of probation, due to end on November of this year. When he failed to report for a mandatory drug test earlier this month a warrant was issued for his arrest, leading to the fatal events of Thursday.

A probable cause hearing is scheduled for Latanowich on June 26.