Trial is expected to begin Wednesday morning in the case of a New Florence man who is accused of assaulting police officers.

A jury was empaneled Tuesday and will hear evidence against Ray A. Shetler Jr., 39.

He has been in jail awaiting trial since his arrest in December 2021 on charges that he attacked and injured one of several officers while they took him into custody on an alleged probation violation. A Westmoreland County judge last week ruled that prosecutors still have time to bring Shetler’s case to court, rejecting a defense demand that criminal charges against him be dismissed. The defense had claimed that his speedy trial rights were violated.

Authorities say Shetler fought with officers and headbutted a sheriff’s deputy after they found him hiding under blankets in a futon at a mobile home in New Florence. The deputy suffered head and shoulder injuries requiring hospital treatment, prosecutors said.

Shetler was subsequently charged with aggravated assault of a law enforcement official, disarming police and resisting arrest.

He previously was tried and found not guilty in a 2018 trial in the shooting death 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.

In that case, Shetler was convicted of theft of a vehicle, which prosecutors said he stole during an attempted getaway after the shooting. He was serving a probation sentence for that arrest.

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.

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