Mt. Pleasant man pleads guilty to assaults against police, jail staff

A Mt. Pleasant man was sentenced this week to serve up to 42 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges in seven cases including allegations that he assaulted police officers and staff at the Westmoreland County Prison.

Joe Paul Biller, 37, has been in jail since his latest arrest in February 2022 and under the sentences imposed by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears will remain incarcerated for the next eight months after he was given credit for time her has served behind bars. In total, the judge ordered Biller to serve at least 21 months prison and five additional years on probation following his release.

Biller was originally charged in 2020 with operating a methamphetamine lab out of a car and was subsequently arrested on two related cases based on allegations he resisted arrest and vandalized a holding cell at a district judge’s office.

According to court records, Biller was freed on bail but was charged again in February 2022 when authorities claimed he attacked police officers with scissors and taunted them with racial slurs when they came to his home to serve a mental health warrant.

Biller was later charged for separate incidents in August and September 2022 with assaults against a jail guard, nursing staff and an inmate at the lockup.