Area man charged with homicide after shooting
By KRISTIE LINDEN
klinden@yourmvi.com
A 23-year-old Donora man was charged with homicide after he allegedly shot and killed an intruder early Thursday morning.
According to state police, Bryan D. Harris of Sixth Street fired a handgun at several people inside his home in the 400 block just before 2 a.m., striking Brandon Harrison, who later died of his injuries.
Harrison, 34, of Masontown was taken by ambulance to a landing zone near the Donora Elementary Center on Waddell Avenue to await a medical helicopter, but he was pronounced dead at 3:18 a.m. in the ambulance.
In an affidavit of probable cause, state police Trooper Kristen Zelechowski wrote that multiple 911 calls were made at 1:40 a.m. reporting shots fired at the residence on Sixth Street.
According to the criminal complaint, three men entered the residence by force and attempted to confront Harris, who allegedly responded by firing multiple rounds and striking one of the men, later identified as Harrison.
“The defendant admitted to Donora Police Department officers that he hid the firearm used during this incident under the mattress in the bedroom and picked up the casings and placed them into a shoe in the entryway,” Zelechowski wrote in the affidavit.
A Glock 40 caliber pistol, two additional firearms, multiple rounds of ammunition, multiple 40 caliber casings, a plastic container containing suspected marijuana, packaging materials and 1,000 stamp bags of suspected heroin were seized during a search of Harris’ residence, the affidavit states.
In addition to homicide, Harris is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and tampering with evidence.
First Assistant District Attorney Jason Walsh will prosecute the case on behalf of the Commonwealth. Harris was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Thompson Thursday afternoon and is being held without bail in the Washington County Correctional Facility.
A preliminary hearing in front of Thompson has been scheduled for 9:15 a.m. Dec. 16.
State police are still investigating the incident and ask that anyone with information contact them at 724-929-6262.
Donora, Carroll Township, Monongahela police departments responded to the scene, along with Mon Valley EMS and the Donora Volunteer Fire Department.
