Another man faces charge in off-duty officer's 1980 death

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) - Another man is facing a murder charge in the 1980 shooting death of an off-duty northwestern Indiana police officer.

The Post-Tribune reports 68-year-old Pierre Catlett pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Lake Superior Court. A trial was set for Feb. 11, but defense lawyer Robert Lee Lewis says that's too soon. A delay is likely.

Catlett was charged in 2012 after a task force reopened the investigation. He was incarcerated in Illinois on a battery case until August.

Prosecutors say Catlett and an accomplice went into a Holiday Inn in Hammond, demanded money from a clerk and shot 33-year-old Lawrence Pucalik while the Hammond officer worked as a security guard.

Fifty-five-year-old James Hill was sentenced in October to 47 years in prison for his alleged role in the getaway car.

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Information from: Post-Tribune, http://posttrib.chicagotribune.com/