Almost a year after Ray Shetler Jr. was found not guilty of homicide in the shooting death of Saint Clair Township Police Officer Lloyd Reed, Westmoreland County Judge Megan Bilik-DeFazio has ordered the release of Officer Reeds belongings to his widow.
Reed was shot and killed in a gun battle with Shetler on November 28th, 2015 at a home in new Florence. He’d been called to the home for a domestic dispute between Shetler and his girlfriend and when he arrived, he was confronted by Shetler, who exited the home carrying a rifle. The two exchanged gunfire and Reed was fatally shot through an opening underneath his bulletproof vest. He died at the scene and Shetler fled, eventually being captured after swimming across the Conemaugh River into Indiana County.
The judge’s order releases from court custody all of the evidence used at Shetler’s trial, including his glasses, flashlight, a flag pin and state emblem button, a windbreaker, and Reed’s .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun. The action by Judge Bilik-DeFazio came at the request of Rosemarie Reed.
In separate actions, the judge last year also released two rifles and a handgun from the evidence lockup to their respective owners.
