Judge reins in Sackett suspect: Defendant sent out of courtroom after demanding lawyers be fired, disrupting jury selection.

Byline: Shannon Prather

Feb. 8--Ronald Reed, accused of killing a St. Paul cop in 1970, made it clear Tuesday he wants no part of his trial.

The defendant tried to fire his lawyers, saying they're incompetent, a day after he unsuccessfully asked the judge to recuse himself for bias.

Reed repeatedly interrupted jury selection. Then, he argued with the judge, eventually saying he no longer wanted to be in the courtroom.

The judge made it equally clear the trial will go on, with or without Reed sitting in the defendant's chair. After warning Reed that leaving the courtroom would be a "grave mistake," Ramsey County District Judge Gregg Johnson agreed that the defendant could watch the trial in a separate room via a television monitor. Johnson then pressed ahead and said jury …