South Fayette man charged in multiple 'street-racing' incidents, accused of fleeing from police
A South Fayette man has been charged with riot, fleeing from police and other charges in connection with a street-racing incident in Downtown Pittsburgh the night before the Pittsburgh Marathon.
Police said Jason Stotlemyer, 32, fled from two attempted traffic stops.
Pittsburgh Police were called to the intersection of Liberty Avenue and Stanwix Street at 11 p.m. May 4 for a report of vehicles drag racing and performing “donuts” in the street.
While at the scene, police saw a gray Dodge Charger with distinctive features including a black hood and gas cap cover, a large antenna and tinting on the windows and windshield.
It also had no license plate, according to police.
Police got a look at the driver, whose window was partially rolled down, according to court documents.
The driver fled the scene toward the Boulevard of the Allies. A second police cruiser attempted to pull the car over as it passed the intersection of First Avenue and Smithfield Street, as the driver destroyed multiple fences set up for the Pittsburgh Marathon.
Police shared information on the car with state troopers, who said they believed it was Stotlemyer, who they’d previously charged in connection with similar street-racing incident July 21, 2023, on the Fort Pitt Bridge. He was charged with felony counts of aggravated assault after his flight from police resulted in a trooper’s vehicle being struck.
Two months before that, Stotlemyer was also charged by Monroeville police following a street-racing incident.
Pittsburgh Police investigators discovered an Instagram account the believe was linked to Stotlemyer, with multiple videos and posts showing both Stotlemyer and the gray Dodge Charger from the May 4 incident. In one of the videos, a woman holds up a Maryland vanity license plate with the phrase “WILL RUN” on it.
Police ran the license plates through their plate recognition system and came back with an address on Boyce Road in South Fayette, according to court documents. South Fayette police confirmed it was Stotlemyer’s address.
In other videos, Stotlemyer posted himself performing a “burnout” in the Charger as well as an interaction with a Pittsburgh police officer. Police were able to make out a partial Pennsylvania license plate, using two letters and two numbers to find a 2019 gray Dodge Charger registered to Stotlemyer.
Stotlemyer is charged with reckless driving, reckless endangering, riot, criminal mischief and fleeing from police.
“After speaking to Mr. Stotlemyer during the course of this past week as the rumors of his involvement were circulating, I am surprised that charges have been filed,” said Stotlemyer’s attorney Casey White. “We look forward to addressing these allegations in court.”
White said Stotlemyer is paralyzed from the waist down and drives using only his hands, following a 2019 altercation with a tow truck driver in which he was shot.
Stotlemyer has more than 20 traffic citations dating back to 2018.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.