A 33-year-old Pittsburgh man is facing burglary, aggravated assault, criminal-trespassing and simple-assault charges after a confrontation at a Jackson Township home left two people scalded, according to the Butler Radio Network. Walid Kourami was taken to Butler County Prison after bond was set at $100,000. The allegations have not been tested at trial.
The case is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Sept. 30. Under Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 542, that hearing addresses whether the evidence establishes a prima facie case that an offense occurred and that the defendant committed it; it is not a determination of guilt.
What police allege
Police said Kourami went to the Route 19 residence while looking for his girlfriend, who had gone there because she said she was afraid of him, according to reporting based on the police affidavit by the Cranberry Eagle. The affidavit identifies the resident as Raymond Valentine and says he suffered a cut above his right eye and burns to his face, chest, torso and arms. He was flown to UPMC Mercy.
The girlfriend was also injured by boiling water, according to police. The reports further describe damage to windows at the home and to a vehicle during the broader confrontation. Those details remain allegations contained in the charging materials.
A competing account remains central
Kourami told police that he entered through an unlocked door, that Valentine took him down and choked him, and that he grabbed a pot of boiling water in response. He also pointed to a cut on his hand. Whether that account supports a legal claim of self-defense, and how the competing testimony affects the filed charges, are issues for the criminal proceedings.
The aggravated-assault allegations are among the most serious charges in the case: Pennsylvania classifies aggravated assault under Section 2702(a)(1), (2) and (9) as a first-degree felony, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The statutory classification does not establish that the charged conduct occurred or determine the eventual outcome.
The domestic-violence context is broader than this case
The reported safety concern involving Kourami’s girlfriend places the case within a wider domestic-violence context, but statewide figures cannot show that this incident reflects a trend or establish what occurred between the people involved. Separately, the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence reported 106 domestic-violence-related victim deaths in 2024, including 71 females and 35 males; 69% of those homicide victims were killed by a current or former intimate partner. Those figures concern deaths, not the alleged assaults in Jackson Township.
People in Butler County seeking confidential support can contact the Victim Outreach Intervention Center, which lists 24-hour hotlines at 724-283-8700 and 1-800-400-8551 on its official website.
The criminal case remains pending. The Sept. 30 preliminary hearing is the next identified proceeding in which the prosecution’s evidence and the defense account may receive formal scrutiny.
