Police capture McKees Rocks fugitive accused of punching pregnant ex-girlfriend in stomach

Authorities Friday arrested a McKees Rocks fugitive charged with holding his ex-girlfriend captive for two days this summer — all while repeatedly punching her in the stomach after he learned another man had impregnated her, investigators said.

Detectives took Justin Daugherty, 24, into custody at a Stowe residence on two dozen criminal charges, the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office said.

When authorities arrived with a search warrant for the Rosamond Street home, Daugherty tried to jump out of a first-floor window, according to Mike Manko, a sheriff’s office spokesman.

Daugherty spotted a police dog and retreated, Manko said. He was later was arrested without incident and taken to the Allegheny County Jail, where he was awaiting arraignment Friday afternoon.

The situation unfolded Aug. 24, a Sunday, when Daugherty arrived at his ex-girlfriend’s apartment in McKees Rocks, authorities said.

He recently had been released from jail for assaulting her.

Daugherty had a “lengthy history” of beating the woman, according to the complaint.

The woman told Daugherty she had a new boyfriend.

“You’re not going outside, you’re not going to work, you’re not going nowhere,” Daugherty replied, according to the complaint.

For two days, Daugherty kept his ex-girlfriend in the apartment, repeatedly punching her stomach, the complaint said. Daugherty threatened to “stomp on my stomach if I kept it,” she later told police.

On Aug. 26, police said the woman was able to answer a call from her new boyfriend. He and a second man, who was not named in court records, then tried to rescue her.

The boyfriend smashed a window near the rear door of the woman’s apartment. Daugherty responded with a single shot from a 9 mm pistol, the complaint said.

The bullet struck the boyfriend’s companion in the right leg. He later was treated at Allegheny General Hospital.

The two men retreated. Daugherty tried to kidnap the daughter he had with the woman, according to investigators. The criminal complaint said the girl is under 6 years old.

But the girl, who was awakened by the sound of the gunshot, ran away. Her mother, though, could not escape.

Daugherty kidnapped the woman and drove away, the complaint said.

It is unclear how long they were gone, but at one point, the woman was called by a neighbor who had summoned police.

Around 11:30 p.m., the woman managed to call 911, crying as she described being how she had been beaten, the complaint said.

The dispatcher started tracking Daugherty’s vehicle but police weren’t able to catch him. It was not clear from court paperwork how Daugherty managed to escape.

He later released the woman, according to the complaint.

The woman, who was bruised and had other minor injuries, told authorities Daugherty threatened to beat her if she didn’t meet police back at her apartment and “say the right things.”

Three months passed before sheriff’s office detectives were able to trace Daugherty to the Stowe residence.

Daugherty now faces 24 criminal charges, nearly half of them felonies, including four counts of aggravated assault, one count of aggravated assault of an unborn child, and two counts of kidnapping.

He also faces multiple firearms charges. Police said he cannot lawfully own a gun because he pleaded guilty to firearms charges in 2019 and 2023.

Daugherty’s attorney was not listed Friday in court records.