Westmoreland County Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio has postponed the trial of Ray Shetler for a seventh time. Shetler is the New Florence man accused of shooting to death Saint Clair Township police officer Lloyd Reed Jr. in November of 2015. The 32-year-old New Florence man is charged with criminal homicide, first degree murder, and third degree murder, and District Attorney John Peck is seeking the death penalty.
Officer Reed had responded to a reported domestic dispute at the New Florence home of Shetler’s girlfriend and exchanged gunfire with Shetler when he emerged from the home with a rifle in hand.
Judge Bilik-DeFazio issued the latest continuance of the trial because of a new pretrial hearing she had scheduled. Shetler’s online docket does not list that hearing date. The trial was originally scheduled for October of last year. The most recent trial date was January 8th. Jury selection is now scheduled to begin on February 5th.
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