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Cop Who Allegedly Lied Prepares for Trial

ORWIGSBURG — Melissa Ruch was seen laughing with family inside a district magistrate’s office in Orwigsburg, but after watching a handful of witness...
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ORWIGSBURG -- Melissa Ruch was seen laughing with family inside a district magistrate's office in Orwigsburg, but after watching a handful of witnesses show up, prepared to testify at her preliminary hearing, Ruch decided to end the hearing before it started.

When Ruch walked out of a district magistrate's office in Orwigsburg, the West Penn Township Police Officer tried to dodge cameras and questions.

The only words she would say were, "Yes it did," after being asked whether her claimed attack actually happened.

The now-suspended West Penn Township Police officer is charged with four misdemeanors for allegedly lying about being assaulted on the job.

In August, Ruch claimed she was attacked by a man after pulling over his car on Route 309 near Tamaqua. It prompted a search with state police and local police. A helicopter was even in the air.

Ruch had given a detailed description of the man she said attacked her. She described a Hispanic man, about 6 feet tall, and weighing around 250 pounds. Ruch said his name was Jose Cruz Mendez, but investigators eventually concluded that Ruch made the whole thing up.

"We are confident we have a very strong case going forward and I am very confident in the evidence that the Pennsylvania State Police has obtained through witnesses and other expert reports. Yes, we are very confident in our case," said Schuylkill County Assistant District Attorney John Fegley.

Ruch and her attorney decided not to go through with the hearing and are preparing to defend her at trial.

"She's very upset that she has been charged with a crime that she claims she didn't commit. So she intends to fully defend herself, but the time and the place is down the road, in the court of common pleas in Schuylkill County, not at the preliminary hearing," said Ruch's Attorney Frederick Fanelli.

No date has been set yet for a trial. Ruch is currently suspended without pay from the West Penn Township Police Department.

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