North Huntingdon man sentenced for attack on police

A North Huntingdon man pleaded guilty this week to assaulting three police officers who responded to his home for a welfare check.

According to court records, Kevin Michael Shouse stood at the top of a staircase at his Center Highway home, brandished a machete and later injured the officers during another altercation.

Shouse, 24, pleaded guilty to six counts of aggravated assault and three reckless endangerment offenses and was sentenced by Westmoreland County Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio to serve 6 to 23 months in jail and an additional two years on probation. Shouse was given credit for the time he served in jail since his arrest Dec. 24.

The judge paroled Shouse and ordered that he be released to an inpatient residential mental care treatment facility.

Two drug-related offenses were dismissed as part of the plea bargain.

According to court records, officers responded to Shouse’s home on Dec. 13 after receiving a 911 call about concerns over his mental state. After brandishing an 18-inch machete, police said Shouse was convinced to put down the weapon and sit on a couch. He later ran into the kitchen and got into an altercation with officers, who said they were kicked, kneed and hit as they wrestled him to the ground. A Taser was required to subdue Shouse, police said.

All three officers reported injuries from the altercation. One sustained a shoulder injury while another’s elbow was hurt and a third received a blow to the face from Shouse’s knee, according to court records.