Jury trial set for summer for former SCI-Somerset inmate

A former SCI-Somerset inmate charged with beating a corrections officer to death in February 2018 is now scheduled for a jury trial this summer.

Jury selection for Paul Kendrick, 24, of Pittsburgh, is set to begin July 13, with the trial expected to follow after a panel of jurors are seated.

Kendrick is charged with homicide and aggravated assault in Sgt. Mark Baserman’s death.

Baserman was an 11-year veteran officer for the Department of Corrections who was promoted to sergeant at SCI-Somerset in 2016.

District Attorney Jeffrey Thomas said his office plans to seek the death penalty in the case if Kendrick is convicted of first-degree murder.