Westmoreland County Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio yesterday ordered the release of 33-year-old Ray Shetler Jr., sentencing him to 11 ½ to 23 months in prison plus five years of probation for his conviction on charges of theft and receiving stolen property. Shetler has already exceeded that term, making him eligible for release. His stepfather, Mark Porter, told the judge that Shetler will live with him and Shetler’s mother in the Saltsburg area and work a construction job that is waiting for him. Porter said he would drive Shetler to and from work until he gets a car.
Shetler was found guilty of the two misdemeanor offenses in February, at the same time being acquitted on two counts of murder in the death of Saint Clair Township Police Officer Lloyd Reed Jr. in November of 2015.
Shetler was arrested near the Conemaugh Generating Station on the Indiana County side of the Conemaugh River about six hours after the shooting. He had swum the river in his escape attempt and stolen a pickup truck form the plant, but it had broken down. Reed and Shetler engaged in a gunfight after Reed responded to a domestic violence dispatch at the New Florence home of Shetler’s girlfriend. Shetler was also found not guilty on charges related to the original incident with his girlfriend.
The judge prohibited Shetler from consuming alcohol or drugs for the entire five years of probation and banned him from having any contact with the Reed family.
Shetler thanked the judge for granting him a fair trial.