Westmoreland restarts criminal trials with case against Rahmael Holt's father

After a four-month hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, jury trials resumed Monday in Westmoreland County.

A 12-member jury and two alternates were selected to hear evidence in a witnesses intimidation case against the father of the man convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of New Kensington police officer Brian Shaw in 2017.

Gregory Paul Baucum, 49, formerly of Arnold, is accused of attempted intimidation of a potential witness who was slated to testify against his son, Rahmael Holt, by posting on a social media account pictures of her statements to police along with emojis depicting a rat and cheese.

Prosecutors said Baucum received copies of the statements as part of his court-ordered discovery in his trial on previous charges last year.

Opening statements are to start Tuesday in a reconfigured courtroom with procedures in place for social distancing and safety protocols made necessary because of the pandemic.

Some jurors will be seated in the jury box while others will be in the rows of seats on one side of the courtroom. Everyone in the courtroom will be required to wear masks.

Westmoreland County Judge Scott Mears, who is presiding over the trial, said jurors will remain in the courtroom during routine breaks and deliberations.

“We put a lot of thought into how we can do this safely. I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t confident we could maintain social distancing,” Mears said.

Jury trials in the county were halted in March amid the pandemic that also prompted many other court proceedings to be delayed or conducted remotely.

As court operations slowly ramped up over the last two months, court officials moved to resume criminal trials in August and restart civil trials in September.

“I am anticipating this will go well,” President Judge Rita Hathaway said.

Baucum’s case is the first of what could be two criminal trials this week.

Court administrator Amy DeMatt said 54 prospective jurors appeared at the courthouse Monday for Baucum’s trial. She said 74 potential jurors were summoned.

Two courtrooms and two meeting rooms were used for the jury selection process.

County officials originally were to use the Palace Theatre across the street from the courthouse for jury selection, but logistical challenges altered that plan, Hathaway said.

Instead, jurors were divided among three locations, a large courtroom on the second floor, the commissioners’ public meeting room in the lobby and the jury gathering room in the basement. Mears presided over the first round of questioning while Hathaway oversaw the initial intake of jurors in the other locations.

Mears, along with prosecutors and Baucum’s defense lawyer, conducted additional individual questioning of all prospective jurors in the judge’s third-floor courtroom, where the trial will be held.

Plans for the trial were put in jeopardy last week after court officials feared Mears and his staff were exposed to the virus by an inmate who attended a hearing at the courthouse and that same day was found to be positive for covid-19.

Mears and his staff were tested over the weekend and were found to be virus-free.