Morning roundup: Fire in Washington County; man accused of firing AR-15 outside club; man charged with raping child

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, Dec. 11:

Fire in Washington County

One person was evaluated by paramedics after a fire in Washington County on Sunday night, according to TribLive news partner WTAE-TV.

The fire was reported a little before 11:30 p.m. in the 200 block of Wilson Road in West Brownsville.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Pedestrian hit by car in Moon

A pedestrian was hit by a car in Moon, TribLive news partner WTAE reported.

The accident happened on Patton Drive near University Boulevard.

The condition of the pedestrian was not immediately available. Police are investigating.

Man accused of firing AR-15 outside club in Homestead

A West Mifflin man is accused of firing an AR-15 assault rifle outside a club in Homestead on Sunday morning, TribLive news partner WTAE reported.

Juan M. Santana Cabrera, 50, faces two felony counts of aggravated assault, along with charges of causing or risking catastrophe, making terroristic threats, fleeing officers, discharging a gun into an occupied structure and other offenses in connection with the incident, which happened shortly after 2 a.m.

Santana Cabrera was being held early Monday in Allegheny County Jail after being denied bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 20.

WTAE reported that police said Santana Cabrera got out of his car along Ann Street and opened fire near the Homestead Slavs Club, hitting several vehicles. Witnesses said that as Santana Cabrera approached the club, people inside locked the door and hid in the basement.

Police said Cabrera drove off and was later arrested.

New Bethlehem man charged with raping child

A New Bethlehem man was arrested by state police after they said he raped a child over the course of seven years.

Corey Botelho, 29, was accused of sexually assaulting and raping a Mayport, Clarion County, girl beginning when she was 8 years old, at various locations in Armstrong County.

Botelho is being held in Armstrong County Prison on a total of 50 charges, including rape of a child and sexual assault. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 19.

Visibility could be impacted by snow

While little snow accumulation is expected, drivers in Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties should keep an eye out for reduced visibility from snow showers Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Colton Milcarek, meteorologist with the NWS in Pittsburgh, said the area was “not really expecting too much snow.” The Allegheny County area is only likely to see about a tenth of an inch in accumulation.

“We still have got the winter weather advisory out for the highlands of West Virginia (and) the Laurel Mountains in Pennsylvania,” he said. “The temperatures there are cooler.”

Scattered snow showers favoring northwest PA and the WV high terrain will dwindle through the day today. For those areas, additional snowfall accumulations are unlikely to exceed 1" (less than 30% chance areawide).

Then, dry weather is highly likely through Saturday. pic.twitter.com/v1VMcc9ay4

— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) December 11, 2023

Higher, mountainous areas could see around an inch of accumulation, he said. Temperatures are expected to peak at 37 degrees and fall to a low of 28 degrees on Monday night, the weather service said. Most snow showers are expected to be before 8 a.m.

“Always be vigilant and keep an eye out,” said Milcarek. “The one concern is that snow showers could temporarily be heavy at times, (but) largely, temperatures remain above freezing. We’re mostly just looking at visibility reductions if you’re on the road this morning.”