Pa. man charged with rape also probed for meth lab operation

PATTON, Pa. (AP) — Police responding to a violent domestic abuse situation charged a western Pennsylvania man with rape but found themselves investigating whether he was also running a methamphetamine lab after finding toxic chemicals at his home.

Online court records don’t list an attorney for 40-year-old Steven Fisher who remained in the Cambria County Jail on the rape charge today, as the drug investigation continues.

Pennsylvania State Police say Patton threatened a woman to drop a protection from abuse order against him late Tuesday and wound up threatening to kill the woman and her son before raping her about 1 a.m.

Police say the woman escaped shortly before noon by claiming to have a doctor’s appointment. When police arrived at Fisher’s home, they found the chemicals and called in a hazardous materials team to remove them.