East Huntingdon woman pleads guilty to 3rd-degree murder in boyfriend's shooting death

An East Huntingdon woman is awaiting sentencing after she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of third-degree murder for the 2020 shooting death of her boyfriend.

Police said Meghan J. West, 31, fired at least three shots into a closed door in an argument in the late evening of Sept. 20, 2020, at her home near Ruffs Dale. Andrew Pristas, 33, of Greensburg died.

According to court records, West claimed she fired a warning shot into the left side of the door as Pristas sought to force his way into her bedroom. Police said West then fired a second shot at the right side of the door, above the door handle. That proved to be the fatal round, police said.

Pristas was shot in the upper back and died from his injuries.

Prosecutors dismissed a charge of first-degree murder against West as part of the plea deal. Assistant District Attorney Jim Lazar said Pristas’ family approved the plea deal. Lazar did not indicate why prosecutors dropped the first-degree murder charge.

District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said she would not comment on the case until after West is sentenced.

Defense attorney Adam Gorzelsky said West agreed to the deal to avoid the risk of a potential life sentence if convicted of first-degree murder.

“She genuinely didn’t want to put the family through a trial, and this plea is making her accept responsibility,” Gorzelsky said.

Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio said she would conduct a sentencing hearing for West in about three months.

The judge

last year rejected a defense effort that sought to dismiss the first-degree murder count. Gorzelsky claimed West did not intend to kill Pristas. West claimed Pristas was angered by a photo on her cellphone and threatened her with violence before she took refuge behind a locked bedroom door and fired warning shots.

West told police she wanted to scare Pristas and get him to leave.

Police said West and Pristas had a two-year relationship and previously had lived together.

West appeared in court Monday for a routine hearing to assess whether her case would be ready for trial this month.

In a separate case, West pleaded guilty to a charge of simple assault. Police said, hours before the fatal shooting, West attacked another man, a former boyfriend, after another argument involving cellphone pictures.

Police said a man reported spending the weekend at West’s Fieldstone Lane home and, when he woke Sept. 20, 2020, he found West examining his cellphone. She became upset and threw the phone against a wall, he claimed. West then discarded the phone in a wooded area and injured the man when he tried to leave the home, according to court records.

West caused three cuts on the man’s face when she grabbed his arm and pulled his glasses off his face, according to police.