St. Clair Township police officer's widow to have husband's belongings returned to her

St. Clair Township police Officer Lloyd Reed’s gun, eyeglasses and other personal belongings will be returned to his widow more than three years after he was gunned down while responding to a domestic violence call in New Florence.

Ray Shetler Jr., the man accused of killing Reed, was acquitted of murder charges following a six-day trial last year in Westmoreland County. Shetler, 34, of New Florence, was charged with first-degree murder and faced a potential death sentence before he was found not guilty of Reed’s murder. Shetler claimed at trial he did not know Reed was a police officer when he fired at what he said he thought was an unidentified man with a gun.

Reed, 54, of Hollsopple, Somerset County, was in uniform in November 2015 when he responded to a call from Shetler’s then girlfriend. He died minutes after being shot one time in the chest by Shetler in the front yard of the woman’s home. Shetler, who was shot in the shoulder during the firefight, claimed Reed was first to fire.

Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bilik-DeFazio signed a court order this week authorizing the return of Reed’s property, which had been stored at the courthouse with all of the evidence presented in Shetler’s trial. According to court documents, Reed’s widow, Rosemarie Reed, asked for custody of her husband’s belongings.

The items returned to Rosemarie Reed were a small black flashlight, his eyeglasses and a lens found on the ground at the scene of the shooting; a flag pin and Pennsylvania button, a window breaker and the officer’s .40-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol. Those items were just some of the 190 pieces of evidence introduced at Shetler’s trial.

Although he was acquitted of the murder charges, Shetler served more than two years in jail after his arrest. He was eventually released from custody last May after he was formally sentenced to serve 11 1/2 to 23 months in jail and five years on probation for theft and receiving stolen property, the only offenses jurors found him guilty of during his murder trial. Prosecutors said Shetler stole a truck as he fled from police after the shooting.

Police said as Shetler attempted evade arrest, he swam across the Conemaugh River and hid on the grounds of a local power generating station. He was finally taken into custody after a six-hour manhunt, police said.

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.