Police Log: Jan. 19, 2017

By Submitted Report
The Tube City Almanac
January 19, 2017
Posted in: Crime and Police News

• Arrest records published here were provided by the McKeesport Police Department.
• Not all arrest records are published.
• A report of 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.

Traffic Stop: A city man faces numerous charges after McKeesport police accused him of trying to injure officers --- and threatening to kill them --- following a traffic stop.

Marcus Acie-Griffin, 25, faces a preliminary hearing May 22 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi Jr. A previous hearing scheduled for Jan. 9 was continued, court records indicate.

According to a police report, on the evening of Dec. 30, an officer on patrol spotted a car with an expired license plate on Jenny Lind Street near Converse Street. Police said the officer attempted to stop the car, only to have it accelerate. The vehicle finally stopped at Eaton Street.

Police said the driver refused to provide a driver's license or any other identification, and instead swore at the officer. Additional police officers arrived and informed the driver that he was under arrest for refusing to identify himself, at which time he began fighting with the police officers.

During the struggle, police said, the driver appeared to reaching for a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol that was in the waistband of his pants. Police recovered the gun as well as a 31-round magazine in the driver's pants pocket.

Two officers sustained injuries when the driver kicked and scratched them, according to the report. Police said the driver also threatened to have them killed.

Police identified the driver as Acie-Griffin and charged him with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering other persons, making terroristic threats, obstructing justice, resisting arrest, driving without valid registration, failing to stop for an emergency vehicle and unlawful activities. Court records indicate Acie-Griffin is free after posting $50,000 cash bond.

Police said Acie-Griffin had a Pennsylvania concealed-carry permit, but the permit was revoked as a result of the arrest, and the pistol was sent to the Allegheny County Crime Lab for analysis.

Burglary Charge: McKeesport police investigating an apparent burglary at a home in the 800 block of Union Avenue discovered their suspect hiding under a piece of carpet padding in the basement.

Darryl Clark, 34, no address known, is charged with burglary, criminal trespass and criminal mischief. Court records indicate Clark is free on recognizance bond pending a preliminary hearing Jan. 23 before Magisterial District Justice Eugene Riazzi Jr.

Police were dispatched to the home at 2 p.m. Jan. 4, according to a report, and when they arrived found water gushing from cut copper pipes in the basement. As they searched the home, they observed "a large lump" beneath a piece of carpet padding under the stairs, the report states.

The lump was "consistent with a person laying there," according to the report. When officers ordered the "lump" to surrender, two arms extended from the carpet padding, the report stated.

Damages to the home were unknown at the time of the report.

Drug Charges: A 26-year-old McKeesport man faces a preliminary arraignment Feb. 28 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court on drug charges filed after a traffic stop in the city.

Deonta A. Fortson was arrested by McKeesport police and charged with possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to deliver, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Court officials said that on Jan. 9 Fortson waived his right to a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi Jr.

Police said an officer on routine patrol on the afternoon of Jan. 4 saw a car make an unsafe left turn from Versailles Avenue onto Soles Street. When police stopped the car, according to a police report, the front seat passenger, identified as Fortson, attempted to hide something under the front seat.

Police said that 45 stamp bags of suspected heroin were found under the passenger seat. Fortson is currently free on recognizance bond, according to court records.

Burglary Charges: Two men face charges in connection with a burglary at a home in the 700 block of Shaw Avenue.

Jeffrey E. Howard, 41, and Charles J. Cunning, 37, both of McKeesport, are charged by city police with burglary and criminal mischief. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23 before Magisterial District Justice Eugene Riazzi Jr.

Police said officers were dispatched at 11:31 p.m. Jan. 4 when neighbors reported hearing suspicious noises and called 9-1-1. Police were met on the sidewalk by the homeowners and went to the rear of the home, where they found a broken window and heard noises inside, according to a police report.

Police accused Howard and Cunning of attempting to steal copper pipe from the home's basement. Both men are free on bond awaiting the hearing.

Drug Charges: A Clairton man was taken to UPMC McKeesport hospital after police said they were forced to use a Taser to subdue him during an incident at a bar on Ringgold Street.

Ephron D. Prince, 28, is charged by McKeesport police with aggravated assault, possession of controlled substances, possession with intent to deliver, resisting arrest, tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice. Prince is free in lieu of $5,000 cash bond pending a preliminary hearing Feb. 6 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi Jr.

McKeesport police said officers looking for a suspect in a retail theft entered the bar on Jan. 6 and found two men engaged in what appeared to be a drug sale. One of the men, later identified by police as Prince, began to struggle with an officer. Another officer used the non-lethal weapon to stun the suspect.

Police said they recovered 31 wrapped pieces of suspected crack cocaine, 13 bags of suspected powder cocaine and three pills of Xanax, an anti-anxiety medication.

Originally published January 19, 2017.

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