Jury selection begins in alleged physician assistant impersonator trial

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Jury selection is under way in the trial of an Osceola County teen accused of impersonating a physician assistant. The judge took extra time to ask some jurors about pretrial publicity.

Kissimmee police arrested Matthew Scheidt last year after he admitted he worked on patients at Osceola Regional Medical Center.

Prosecutors said Scheidt was able to obtain a fraudulent identification badge as a medical worker because of a mistake made in the hospital's administration process.

The defense is expected to seize on that mistake and try to shift the blame away from the 17-year-old, who told detectives he still wants to work in the medical field.

During a videotaped police interrogation, Scheidt admitted to performing CPR on a patient who later died.

His attorney is hoping to keep jurors from seeing that evidence.

Scheidt's was arrested a few months later in Miami Beach on charges of impersonating a police officer.

However, the jury may not be told about that arrest.

Once the jury is set, the judge said he believes the trial may wrap up on Thursday.

WFTV