Federal charges added for Pittsburgh man accused of fleeing Monroeville traffic stop

A Pittsburgh man faces local and federal charges after police say he fled a Monroeville traffic stop in late May, leaving behind a trail of weapons and drugs.

Alvin J. McGhie, 36, of Pittsburgh, was charged this week with drug possession with intent to distribute, illegal possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Those are in addition to drug and weapons charges already pending in a local case.

Monroeville police initiated a May 29 traffic stop on Cambridge Square Drive for a black Cadillac with illegally tinted windows. After initially getting out of the car, the driver — later identified as McGhie — jumped back inside the fled the scene, driving through grass and over sidewalks, police said.

McGhie drove into oncoming traffic lanes along Route 48 and Lincoln Highway through Monroeville and North Versailles, with multiple police departments responding to the chase. Spike strips were eventually deployed on McGhie’s car as it traveled down Patton Street in Wilmerding, according to court records.

The car eventually became disabled on Monroeville Boulevard near Township Road, and police said McGhie then ran from the scene, dropping three bricks of stamp bags containing fentanyl and xylazine, as confirmed by the Allegheny County Crime Lab. Police later found another 10 bricks on the hillside where McGhie had fled.

McGhie was taken into custody later the same day after being seen near the rear of homes along McKinney Road he was apprehended near the intersection of Monroeville Boulevard and Margarite Street.

Additional drugs were discovered in the car McGhie abandoned, according to federal court documents, along with a loaded 9 mm magazine. A search of Patton Street also yielded a 9 mm Glock 45.

After being taken into custody, U.S. authorities noted that McGhie had been sentenced to 51 months in prison stemming from a 2017 federal firearms conviction, and the additional federal charges were filed this week.

McGhie’s attorney declined comment on the charges. A Sept. 19 nonjury trial, on the local charges stemming from the May traffic stop, is scheduled in Judge Jill Rangos’ Pittsburgh court.