Police Log: Dec. 7, 2020

By Submitted Report
The Tube City Almanac
December 07, 2020
Posted in: Crime and Police News

• Arrest records published here were provided by the McKeesport Police Department.
• Not all arrest records are published.
• An arrest does not mean the person identified has been convicted of a crime.
• All people arrested are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

DUI Arrest: A Wilkinsburg man is free on $5,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing Feb. 8 before Magisterial District Justice Eugene Riazzi.

Reshawn J. Todd, 33, is charged by McKeesport police with driving under the influence of alcohol, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, simple assault, escape, resisting arrest, criminal mischief and failing to stop at a stop sign.

McKeesport police allege that Todd’s estranged girlfriend called 9-1-1 on the evening of Nov. 9 to report that he had driven off in her vehicle without permission.

A city police officer spotted the vehicle on Grandview Avenue and attempted to stop it. Police said the driver stopped the car and fled on foot. He was apprehended in the back yard of a home on Steele Street, police said.

Firearm, Drug Charges: A Pittsburgh man was ordered held for court Nov. 30 on firearms and drug charges in connection with an Aug. 31 traffic stop.

William N. Gaunt Jr., 28, of the North Side is charged by McKeesport police with unauthorized possession of a firearm, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a controlled substance, driving at unsafe speeds, failing to stop at a stop sign and driving with a suspended license.

Formal arraignment in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas is scheduled for Jan. 21. Gaunt is free on his own recognizance.

Police allege that Gaunt was driving a white Cadillac SUV that was stopped on the evening of Aug. 31 in Crawford Village after officers working a violence suppression detail observed the SUV go through several stop signs.

Police said they recovered a loaded 9mm pistol from the vehicle as well as suspected marijuana.

Firearm, Drug Charges: A McKeesport man is being held in the Allegheny County Jail pending formal arraignment Jan. 27 on drug and weapons charges.

Marcaius L. Butler, 41, was ordered held for court following a preliminary hearing Dec. 4 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi.

McKeesport police said that the vehicle Butler was driving was stopped Aug. 10 near the intersection of Brownlee Avenue and Yester Square because of illegal window tinting.

Police said Butler appeared to be intoxicated and needed assistance to get out of the vehicle. According to a report, officers said they recovered a 9mm handgun, suspected marijuana, and $4,880 in cash.

Butler is charged by McKeesport police with unauthorized possession of a firearm, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a controlled substance, driving with a suspended license and driving a vehicle with obstructed windows. A charge of possession of controlled substances with intent to deliver was dismissed by Riazzi.

Drug Charges: An Indiana County man was charged with drug possession following an incident on the night of Nov. 6 at an East End convenience store.

Austin T. Hopkins, 25, of Saltsburg is charged by McKeesport police with four counts of possession of controlled substances and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. Police said they recovered methamphetamine, eight stamp bags of suspected heroin and prescription sedatives from Hopkins’ car. Hopkins is free on his own recognizance pending a preliminary hearing Dec. 28 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi.

Charged in Crash: A McKeesport man has been charged with driving under the influence, drug possession and related offenses in connection with a March accident on Bowman Avenue.

Sidney D. McLean Jr., 31, is free on his own recognizance pending a preliminary hearing Dec. 21 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi.

McKeesport police said McLean was driving a Chevrolet sedan that collided with a tree early on the morning of March 7. A passenger in his vehicle sustained a leg injury and was taken by ambulance to UPMC Presbyterian hospital, Oakland.

According to a police report, McLean was unable to complete a field sobriety test. Police said suspected marijuana as well as prescription painkillers and sedatives were recovered.

McLean is charged by McKeesport police with four counts of possession of controlled substances, two counts of driving under the influence of controlled substances, careless driving, driving with a suspended license and an accident involving personal injury.

Charged After Pursuit: A Pittsburgh man is free on $5,000 bond while awaiting formal arraignment in Allegheny County Court Jan. 4 on charges connected to a brief pursuit Oct. 30.

Damani D. Reaves, 22, of the Knoxville area is charged by McKeesport police with flight to avoid apprehension, fleeing and eluding police, driving without a license, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, careless driving and numerous moving violations. Charges were waived to court Nov. 9 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi.

McKeesport police said officers on patrol the night of Oct. 30 observed an Audi sedan driven by Reaves going the wrong way up Quarry Alley in the East End. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but it fled through the Yester Square area, circling the plaza four times before trying to escape between two buildings at Crawford Village, according to a report.

Police said officers were able to box in the vehicle and order Reaves out of the car. The license plate on the Audi was stolen from a Jeep, police said, and the Audi itself had been reported stolen from Aspinwall.

Drug Charges: An Elizabeth Twp. man is free on $5,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing Feb. 12 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi on charges stemming from a Sept. 30 incident at Midtown Plaza.

Troy D. Cesaire, 41, is charged by McKeesport police with possession of controlled substances, possession with intent to deliver and resisting arrest.

City police said they were on foot patrol as part of a crime suppression detail when they observed a man, identified as Cesaire, with a plastic bag containing suspected cocaine.

Police ordered Cesaire to stop, according to a report. Instead, police said, the man fled up a flight of stairs where he lost his footing and fell.

Police said Cesaire attempted to put the bag into his mouth and swallow it, and then fought with police as they arrested him. Cesaire and a McKeesport police officer were taken to UPMC McKeesport hospital for treatment of injuries sustained during the incident.

DUI Charges: Darnell E. Stinson, 51, of McKeesport was charged by city police with driving under the influence of alcohol after a traffic stop Nov. 5 in the 1000 block of McCleary Street. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 18 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi.

Originally published December 07, 2020.

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