Argument over borrowed car led to South Side arson, Pittsburgh police say

Pittsburgh police Monday charged two women with setting a fire inside a South Side home over the weekend after an argument about a borrowed car.

Aubrey Rose Panella, 21, and Ciara Pro, 20, face multiple arson charges after police said they started the fire in a 21st Street apartment closet. The resident of that apartment had called a family member Sunday to pick up the car Panella had been driving, police said.

The one-alarm fire at 128 South 21st St. started in the first-floor bathroom and extended into the kitchen, according to a criminal complaint. It took firefighters about 10 minutes to extinguish and caused more than $50,000 in damage.

Panella and Pro had visited the victim and other friends Sunday in the building, the complaint said.

Panella had driven to the South Side home in a car belonging to the victim’s cousin, police said. She told the cousin she planned to use it for 45 minutes. At one point, the victim called his cousin, who came to take back the car.

Panella “was mad” when she learned the car had been retrieved, the complaint said. Police did not elaborate.

Around 8:30 p.m., Panella told the victim she was taking a shower and then leaving, the complaint said. She and Pro entered the bathroom and then left.

About two minutes later, the victim heard something that sounded like “snaps going off in the bathroom,” the complaint said. He entered the room and found rolls of toilet paper and paper towels on fire in a bathroom closet.

He was unable to douse the fire with water or control it, the complaint said.

Fire extinguishers didn’t help as smoke grew thicker.

Police said the victim and others then ran out of the building. One resident called 911.

It is unclear in the complaint if the victim thought the women started the fire. He told police “they just left and two minutes later I heard crackling.”

Both Panella and Pro were charged with four counts of aggravated arson — one for each person in the building who was affected by the fire — and for cruelty to animals. A cat was inside the home at the time of the fire, court records show.

The pair also were charged with arson, endangering people, criminal mischief and other counts.

Panella was not in police custody, as of Tuesday morning.

Pro was arraigned Monday and released on nonmonetary bail, court records show. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 13.

Attorneys were not listed Tuesday in court records for either woman.