The Pittsburgh-area man charged with shooting at someone outside The Corner Bar in Smethport, and then crashing his car into two buildings, has been arraigned and sent to McKean County Jail.
Brian J. Borrasso, 52, of Hyer Avenue, North Versailles, was arraigned by District Judge Bill Todd and committed to jail in lieu of $200,000 bail.
At the arraignment, two charges of aggravated assault, first-degree felonies, were added against Borrasso, and charges of criminal trespass and burglary were withdrawn.
According to the criminal complaint, in the early morning hours of Aug. 28, Borrasso was at The Corner Bar at 437 W. Main St., Smethport, when he allegedly took $20 off the bar. The manager caught him, and he was escorted from the bar.
Later, when the bartender went outside to take a smoke break, Borrasso drove around the corner of the bar in a silver SUV, pulled out a gun and shot twice in the direction of the bartender and the bar, which had six people inside, the complaint stated.
No one was injured in the alleged shooting.
Upon investigation, police found that Borrasso had driven through the yard and hit a tree by the American Legion, then backed into the Legion, drove across the street and hit the building housing Dr. Christian Howard’s eye care before backing off the sidewalk and driving down West Main Street. He drove into Hamlin Lake Park where he struck a large rock, and then drove across the road and struck another large rock, which totally disabled his vehicle.
When officers approached his vehicle, which had extensive rear end damage, Borrasso smelled strongly of alcohol, appeared confused and was slurring his words. He told police “the guns were in the glove box of the car.” Officers had Borrasso sit down, and called for an ambulance to evaluate his condition, the complaint stated.
Two loaded pistols were found on the floor of the passenger side of the vehicle, police said.
When medics arrived, they took Borrasso to Bradford Regional Medical Center, and he was later transferred to Erie County Medical Center.
Officers noted that a breath test on Borrasso showed his blood alcohol content at .155%; the legal limit is .08%.
Borrasso is charged with two counts of aggravated assault — extreme indifference, first-degree felonies; two counts of aggravated assault- attempts to cause bodily injury with a deadly weapon, second-degree felonies; two counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied structure and three counts of criminal mischief, third-degree felonies; six counts of recklessly endangering another person, second-degree misdemeanors; one count of theft and two counts of disorderly conduct, third-degree misdemeanors; DUI and 21 counts relating to traffic violations.
He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. Sept. 21.
