Jan. 10—A Westmoreland County judge ruled this week that charges against a Mt. Pleasant man accused of assaulting two police officers can go to trial.
Evidence presented at a preliminary hearing supports claims that Joe Paul Biller, 37, attacked and threatened officers as they came to his home to arrest him on an outstanding mental health warrant on February 10 , said the judge of the Court of Common Pleas Scott Mears.
Mt. Pleasant Borough Police say Biller made racial taunts and abusive threats before attacking officers with scissors as they tried to take him into custody.
“Viewing the facts in a more Commonwealth-friendly light, it would appear that when he raised scissors above his head and approached the officers he was attempting to stab or stab them,” wrote Mears.
Biller wanted the judge to dismiss the counts of aggravated assault, common assault and threatening terrorism. He did not contest the charges of resisting arrest, harassment and disorderly conduct.
Biller has been in jail since his arrest 11 months ago and during that time he has been charged in three other cases, including allegations that he assaulted nurses at the county jail and a separate case in which detectives allege that he assaulted a woman during an incident in court in September. .
Biller is also awaiting trial over allegations he operated a meth lab from his car in 2020.
Rich Cholodofsky is a staff writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Rich by email at [email protected] or via Twitter.
Comments are closed.