A New Florence man acquitted of killing a police officer in 2015 will remain in jail as he awaits trial on charges that he assaulted a law enforcement official as police attempted to take him into custody on an outstanding warrant.
Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Megan Bilik-DeFazio on Monday rejected a defense request to lift the detainer that has held Ray Allen Shetler Jr. in custody.
“I am not confident with Mr. Shetler’s compliance with probation,” the judge said.
Shetler, 38, has been in jail since December 2021 after he was arrested for failing to appear in court for a probation violation hearing. Prosecutors said he violated terms of his release from jail after serving a short sentence for theft of a truck while fleeing from authorities following the fatal shooting of St. Clair Township police Officer Lloyd Reed.
Reed, who was in full uniform, was fatally shot by Shetler while responding to a domestic abuse call in New Florence. Shetler claimed he didn’t know Reed was a police officer.
Prosecutors claimed Shetler violated the terms of his release when he tested positive for illegal drugs in August 2021 and failed to contact probation officers last year.
Sheriff’s Department Lt. Jesse Salandro and Cpl. Jonathan Lindsay with the Pennsylvania State Police testified Monday that Shelter was detained following a five-day search, which included visits to as many as eight addresses in the Saltsburg and New Florence areas.
Lindsay said police tracked Shetler to one address just over the border of Indiana and Westmoreland counties.
“We missed him by approximately five minutes,” Lindsay testified.
Helicopters and dogs were used in an attempt to track Shetler in the nearby woods, but officers eventually lost his trail, Lindsay said.
Days later, a team of about a half-dozen deputy sheriffs and state police officers returned to a trailer in New Florence where they found Shetler hidden in a futon, Salandro testified.
Police said Shetler fought with officers as they attempted to take him into custody, and one deputy sheriff was injured in the fight. Shetler was hit in the eye with a Taser during the altercation.
Following his arrest, Shetler was charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest and other offenses. Bilik-DeFazio in October ruled Shetler’s speedy trial rights were violated and set Shetler’s bail at $1, which has since been posted. Shetler remained behind bars pending the outcome of Monday’s detainer hearing.
Assistant District Attorney Leo Ciaramitaro argued that Shetler’s violent interactions with police officers and documented violations of probation terms disqualify him from being released from jail while his cases are pending. The county’s probation office also recommended Shetler remain behind bars.
Defense attorney Michael Garofalo told the judge Shetler should be placed on house arrest and his whereabouts monitored with a GPS tracking device.
“Other than this incident, the prior incident he was acquitted of, he has no prior violations. The (probation) violation is de minimus. It’s tenuous at best. They can argue my client would not have come in if anybody had talked to him,” Garofalo said.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich by email at rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Westmoreland judge: Shetler must remain in jail pending trial - TribLIVE
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