Witness to Washington murder jailed
Police are investigating a shooting that occurred Tuesday at Motel 6 in South Strabane Township.
Edwin Rivera
A man who witnessed the shooting death of Alexis Barnett was arrested in connection to a shooting Tuesday afternoon in a South Strabane Township motel.
According to a criminal complaint, Edwin “Cheeno” Rivera, 24, was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and three counts of recklessly endangering another person for shooting Shayla Chandler, 19, in the foot while they were in a room at Motel 6.
A witness told township police Rivera pulled out a revolver and asked, “Who wants to play Russian roulette?” when the gun went off and a bullet struck Chandler.
According to Sgt. Michael Manfredi, Chandler was transported to UPMC-Presbyterian hospital, Pittsburgh, and later released.
Rivera, who police said was homeless, was not at the motel when officers arrived but he was soon detained and taken to South Strabane Police Department for questioning.
He allegedly told officers a song made him think of playing Russian roulette, so he picked up the revolver, put it to his head and asked the people in the room if they wanted to play. He said he was attempting to reset the hammer with his finger on the trigger and it accidentally went off. Rivera told police he apologized when he realized Chandler was shot, then left the room and hid the gun.
The revolver, an Amandeo Ross Revolver .38-caliber handgun, was recovered by police. City of Washington police confirmed it was reported stolen in 2015. Rivera was charged with receiving stolen property.
Rivera was arraigned before District Judge Robert Redlinger and placed in Washington County jail on $20,000 bond.
Rivera was walking with Barnett when she was shot and killed May 4 in the 1100 block of Bruce Street in Washington. He testified during a July 1 hearing that led to homicide charges against Tavian Hooper and Jamaal Greene, who are both being held in Washington County jail without bond.