Justice of the peace candidate drops out

The man who came out firing at incumbent Robey Willis has decided to give up his bid for justice of the peace of Carson City.

Former candidate Ron Weddell said Friday that overthrowing Willis would be too difficult with Willis' strong community support. Thursday's "Meet the Candidates" luncheon made him think twice about the specter of a lengthy campaign.

"Seeing the way that room was stacked, it was a no-win situation," he said. "The largest thing was that there was no turnout by a concerned public."

He said his intentions for entering the race were simply to bring light to his own legal situation and provide an alternative to Willis, who was unchallenged until the last day of candidate filing.

"I kept thinking 'Am I doing the right thing?'" he said. "I feel like there's a huge segment of the population that feels the way that I do. I feel like I'm letting some of those people down."

The Department 1 race is now down to Willis and former Los Angeles Police Department officer Bill Kreider. Department 2 justice of the peace, John Tatro, is running unopposed.

Willis admits that his was a protest candidacy. He has been involved in ongoing legal and civil court battles that have included Willis as a sitting judge and a deposed witness.

"I don't have a vendetta against anybody," he said. "I just don't want anyone to go through what I went through because (court employees) are not doing their jobs.

"Besides, I couldn't work with these people. It would be an uncomfortable work environment."

Weddell's legal troubles in Carson City started in 1997 when he was arrested after using force in an unsuccessful attempt to enact a citizen's arrest. He claims the man he was attempting to arrest assaulted one of his employees.

During the arrest, the man fled on foot and Weddell fired four shots.

Weddell was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and illegally firing a weapon. The preliminary hearing was held in Willis' courtroom. Willis sent the case to district court for trial in front of Judge Michael Fondi.

Fondi dismissed the charges last year, saying that Weddell's arrest attempt was legal under Nevada law. Fondi's dismissal is currently being considered for appeal in the Nevada Supreme Court.

Weddell said he plans to go forward with a civil rights lawsuit in federal court, a grand jury petition in Carson City and a removal action against several Carson City officials.

The three actions are in various stages:

-- Weddell's federal lawsuit is currently in the deposition stage. Weddell claims that his right to enact a prosecution against the man he attempted to arrest was thwarted when a criminal complaint he filed was illegally removed. Willis was deposed in the case Friday.

-- A removal action previously dismissed by the state supreme court will be reheard, the court ruled. No date has been set. Weddell is seeking removal of several Carson City officials for allegations of malfeasance in his criminal trial.

-- A petition for a grand jury to examine evidence against the man Weddell attempted to arrest is near fruition. Weddell said he has collected 4,000 of the nearly 4,200 signatures needed to enact the grand jury. The statute of limitations against the alleged assailant will run out Oct. 17.

Also complicating Weddell's election bid was a history that included two arrests for suspicion of murder and a conviction - later dismissed - for failing to file a legal tax return. Murder charges in Fallon were dropped by prosecutors and he was released after an arrest in Los Angeles where he took a polygraph examination.