Jury Selection To Begin In Officer Killing Trial

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Jury selection begins Monday for the death penalty trial of a man charged in the shooting death of a western Pennsylvania police officer almost two years ago.  Testimony is slated to begin next week for the trial of 31-year-old Rahmael Sal Holt in the November 2017 slaying of New Kensington officer Brian Shaw.  Prosecutors have said they intend to seek capital punishment if Holt is convicted of first-degree murder. Holt has maintained that he wasn’t the one who fired the shots that killed Shaw following a traffic stop in New Kensington.  A judge last week rejected a defense request to remove Holt’s previous gun charges from trial evidence but did agree to bar prosecutors from introducing evidence that Holt had sold drugs prior to the slaying.