On the opening day of Ray Shetler’s murder trial yesterday, Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck told the jury Shetler was inebriated and “full of venom” when he fatally shot Saint Clair Township Police Officer Lloyd Reed Jr. But defense attorney Mark Daffner portrayed Shetler as a man who was leaving the home of his girlfriend, loading his truck, and was holding a rifle over his shoulder when Reed showed up. Daffner said Reed fired first and Shetler returned fire in self defense.
The 54-year-old Reed was responding to Kristen Luther’s home in New Florence in November of 2015 when the gunfight occurred. The jury heard a 20-minute phone call Luther made to 911 to report a domestic assault, and they also heard the police dispatcher’s recordings of radio transmissions on the night of the shooting, including screams and a call for help after Reed had been shot.
Seward Police Officer Justin Dickert, who witnessed the gun battle, testified that Reed repeatedly yelled for Shetler to drop the rifle as he tried to run behind a tree, but he didn’t make it. He said Shetler had bragged earlier that if he was ever involved in a conflict with police he would “never be arrested and taken alive.” Ligonier Police Officer Kevin Smith told of coming on the scene and of hearing Reed’s last words after he’d been shot.
Today, the jury will be bussed to the scene of the shooting and the nearby area where Shetler hid the rifle and some clothing as he attempted to escape.
