Warrant issued: Police seek man for skipping out on pre-trials
 
By Ryan Dionne
rdionne@thespectrum.com
 
CEDAR CITY - He didn't show up for his first pre-trial conference, nor his second.

And on his third chance to show - just two days before his scheduled trial - Wayland Wyler skipped, again.

Judge John Walton gave Wyler a third opportunity to show up in court because Wyler's attorney, Kenneth Combs, told the judge Wyler's truck broke down and he couldn't travel to court - though Combs didn't know where Wyler was travelling from. Because the suspect didn't appear Tuesday morning, Walton issued a $50,000 warrant for Wyler's arrest.

Iron/Garfield Counties Narcotics Task Force detective Mike Crouch, who was lead investigator and arrested Wyler in Spring 2006, said Tuesday's warrant simply adds to Wyler's two warrants from Washington County.

"I'm gonna make every effort to get him back into custody," Crouch said.

Wyler, 40, was accused of sodomizing an 11-year-old girl with whom he had a special relationship on March 12, 2006, according to a court document. The alleged activity had been happening for about three years, according to the document.

Wyler, who was charged with first-degree sodomy on a child and first-degree aggravated sexual abuse of a child, was scheduled for a two-day jury trial to start Thursday, but Walton decided, Monday, to reschedule the trial.

The last time Crouch saw the suspect was in court a couple months ago, but the detective thinks Wyler will lay low and try to evade law enforcement now that there are multiple warrants for his arrest.

The last time he was searching for the man, Crouch said the public was instrumental in apprehending him and he hopes that's the case this time too.

"I would welcome any and all information from anybody," the detective said.
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published October 17, 2007
 
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