New assault charges filed against East Huntingdon woman accused of killing boyfriend

An East Huntingdon woman charged with killing her former boyfriend last month now is accused of attacking a different man at her home earlier in the day of the fatal shooting.

Megan J. West, 24, was arraigned Monday on charges of theft, simple assault, criminal mischief and harassment, according to court papers.

Police said a man reported spending the weekend at West’s Fieldstone Lane home from Sept. 18 to 20. When he woke on Sept. 20, police said, West was going through his cell phone and threw it at a wall after becoming upset with phone calls she reportedly found on it.

She then discarded the phone in a wooded area outside Valley High Mobile Home Park near Ruffs Dale, according to court papers. When the man tried to leave around 11 a.m., she grabbed his hand and the glasses on his face, causing three cuts, police said. West declined to talk to investigators about the situation. She described the man as a former boyfriend.

Police believe Andrew Pristas, 33, of Greensburg came over later that day. West is accused of fatally shooting Pristas at 11:30 p.m. through a bedroom door during a domestic dispute. Pristas was pronounced dead at the scene.

West called 911 and was charged with homicide Sept. 21. The other man spoke to state police about the cell phone incident two days later, according to court papers. Charges were filed last week.

State police said West invited Pristas over Sept. 20. West told investigators they started to argue over something on her phone when she asked him to leave and locked herself in her bedroom, according to court papers.

She told Pristas she had a revolver and would use it while he tried to break down the bedroom door for five to 10 minutes, police said. After firing a warning shot followed by a second round, West told investigators she opened the door to find Pristas lying on the ground bleeding. He was shot once.

Pristas was described by a friend as a strong-willed, kind-hearted person.

West remains in the Westmoreland County Prison without bond. Her attorney declined comment on the new charges Monday because he had not yet received the allegations.

Preliminary hearings in both cases are set for Oct. 14.