Local cases to go before parole board

A Carson City man who shot and killed a bar patron during an armed robbery in 1984 is among several notable people appearing before the parole board next month.

John Lawrence Meiring, 54, was 28 years old when he walked into the Lamplighter Lounge on Winnie Lane wearing a gorilla mask and holding a pistol.

When the three men inside thought he was joking, he fired a round into a door and between patron Bill Nelson's feet.

The bartender realized it was serious and put the register till on the bar. When Meiring's attention was diverted, Nelson and another patron tackled him.

In the ensuing struggle, Meiring's weapon went off, shooting Nelson, 25, in the stomach. He died at the hospital during surgery.

Meiring has appeared 15 times before the parole board since 1994. Four times he received parole, but each time violated his parole and ended up back in prison.

He already completed his sentences on the other charges - two counts of robbery, two deadly weapon enhancements, and a burglary charge. But the murder charge, which was a sentence of life with the possibly of parole, will be with him forever. He will go before the board on May 5.

Also going before the board:

• May 5: Leonard Franklin, 40, was sentenced 10 years to life with parole in 1998 on charges of sexual assault and lewdness with a minor.

In April 1995 in Lyon County, Franklin molested a minor female he met through a church group during a weekend function. In June the same year, he sexually assaulted another member of the church after plying her with liquor.

It will be Franklin's ninth appearance before the board.

• May 10: A Carson City man who shot a deputy during the execution of a search warrant will appear.

Mark Daniel Fiddler, 53, was sentenced to 36 to 96 months in July 2007 on a charge of battery with a deadly weapon.

On Feb. 1, 2007, officers received word drugs were being sold from Fiddler's Fall Street home. As they served a search warrant, Deputy Josh Stagliano began to enter a darkened bedroom when Fiddler opened fire, striking the deputy in his wrist. Stagliano has since recovered. Fiddler said he didn't realize the person in his doorway was an officer.

• May 17: A Placerville teen who was sent to prison with his brother after wrestling a gun away from a Department of Public Safety Officer in November 2007.

Raymond Nattrass, now 19, was sentenced to 18 to 72 months in prison in May 2008. His brother, William Nattrass, 23, was granted parole in February.

The Nattrass brothers and a woman jumped the officer when he heard a commotion outside his Nye Lane office and found the men standing over the woman. When the officer intervened, the trio turned against him. William Nattrass got hold of the gun, placed it to the officer's head and tried to pulled the trigger. The gun did not fire because the safety was on, reports indicate.

• May 17: Brandon Hubbard, who was just 16 years old when he was arrested for the kidnapping and rape of a woman he met in a Carson City bar in August 2002. He was sentenced to

8 to 20 years in December 2005 after a pleading guilty to attempted sexual assault.

According to court records, a month after Hubbard's birthday, the 6-foot-1 teenager was drinking at a bar when he lured a woman outside. For three hours the teen dragged his victim around a residential neighborhood, repeatedly raping and beating her. The woman managed to escape and flag down a passing motorist.