Police find drugs after man flees New Kensington traffic stop; felony charges filed
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A Penn Hills man was accused of being a drug dealer after heroin, cocaine and marijuana were found in his backpack after he fled from a traffic stop, according to New Kensington police.
Tristen Kelly Pierre, 26, of the 100 block of Deerfield Drive was charged with three counts of possession of drugs with the intent to deliver and a count of escape, which are felonies. He also faces four related drug charges, resisting arrest and a traffic violation.
Pierre was being detained in the Westmoreland County jail in lieu of a $25,000 cash bond. He faces a preliminary hearing before District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. on March 30, according to court records.
Police wrote in a criminal complaint charging Pierre that New Kensington officers joined agents from the state Attorney General’s Office on March 20 for a “narcotics suppression detail.”
Shortly after 5 p.m., officers pulled Pierre over in the 200 block of Fifth Avenue because the front bumper of the car he was driving was dragging on the roadway. The car also had a burned-out brake light and heavily tinted windows, according to a criminal complaint.
Police said Pierre ignored orders to stay in the car and fled on foot. An officer was able to grab onto the sleeve of his hoodie as he took off, but it tore free from the sweatshirt.
Officers chased Pierre several blocks before cornering him in the backyard of a home, where he scuffled with police until he was handcuffed and taken into custody, the complaint said.
Inside the car, police found a backpack with more than 2.2 ounces of marijuana in two bags, two bottles of a liquid narcotic pain reliever that did not have prescription labels and three cellphones, the complaint said.
When police searchd a black jacket next to the backpack, police found a total of 3.58 grams in three baggies and 13 packets of fentanyl weighing a total of 0.26-gram.
When police questioned Pierre about his personal drug use, he told them that he smokes marijuana but does not take other drugs, the complaint said.