Police crackdown in Downtown Pittsburgh results in more arrests for drugs, prostitution

To passersby, it might have appeared innocent — just a group of Pittsburghers smoking Downtown.

But Pittsburgh police suspected otherwise.

Myriah Morris, a 22-year-old Penn Hills woman with dyed-blue hair, was sitting with several people on a Mellon Square Park wall Saturday night. Though she didn’t smoke, she kept taking out a pack of Newport cigarettes, police said.

At 6:29 p.m., police said, an unidentified man in a dark-colored bandana walked up to Morris. They talked. Morris took out the Newports and placed it near the man, but he didn’t bum a cigarette, police said. The two just moved their hands in some sort of gesture and then the man left, after which Morris placed the Newports back into her black purse.

At 6:31 p.m., an unidentified woman in a gray T-shirt approached Morris in the park. Again, the Newport cigarettes pack appeared. Police said the two women moved their hands under the pack of cigarettes and then the unidentified woman left as Morris returned the pack to her purse.

Police didn’t wait for a third visit. At least five detectives swarmed the park, with one of them handcuffing Morris and conducting a search of her and her belongings.

Her black purse contained two cellophane wrappers with marijuana, a sandwich bag filled with small rubber bands and eight stamp bags of heroin and fentanyl, half of them marked “block party” in red ink, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.

Police said Morris had been attaching heroin and fentanyl to the underside of the pack of cigarettes, police said. She was carrying $43.

Police charged Morris Wednesday with two felony counts of drug delivery and two misdemeanor counts of drug possession, court records show. She was arraigned Thursday and released. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 14.

Morris was the latest person snagged in a Narcotics and Vice operation that police said they are conducting in response to drug trafficking, drug use and related complaints in Pittsburgh’s central business district.

Police said they have made 17 related arrests since July 7. Eight cases resulted in felony charges being filed for alleged narcotics sales, five involved alleged drug possession and four accused establishments of engaging in illegal prostitution, according to police spokeswoman Cara Cruz.

Between June 28 and July 6, police said the operation resulted in 18 arrests, most including felony charges for alleged drug delivery or possession of drugs with intent to deliver.

“Large quantities of heroin, crack cocaine, designer pills, marijuana and U.S. currency were recovered, as well as one firearm,” Cruz said. “Pittsburgh police will continue with their focused efforts to mitigate drug trafficking Downtown.”

On June 29, Pittsburgh police charged Bradley Dawkins, 34, who was homeless, with receiving stolen property, two counts of drug possession with intent to deliver, six counts of drug possession, possessing instruments of crime and evading arrest, court records show. He was arraigned that day and released.

About a week later, police said detectives saw Dawkins return to a ledge at 500 Smithfield St., where they had previously arrested him, and sit down next to Kenneth Cottingham, 47, of Clairton.

At 8:04 p.m. July 5, an unidentified man sat on the ledge next to Dawkins. Cottingham, seated nearby, reached into a white bookbag and placed a small object on the ledge, police said. He then placed another small object on the unidentified man’s cellphone and the man took the items and left.

At 8:10 p.m., an unidentified man in a yellow baseball hat who was carrying a broom and a dustpan took money from his wallet and handed it to Cottingham. Cottingham then took a small object out of the white bookbag, placed in a shopping bag, rolled it into a ball and threw it on the ground, police said. The man swept it up and left.

Police said they moved in and searched Cottingham, finding marijuana in his shirt pocket, two bricks of heroin marked “Instagram” in red ink in his pants pocket and $261 in cash.

Police said they also searched the white bookbag, finding two stamp bags and one bundle of heroin marked “Instagram,” $88 in cash and two baggies containing nearly a half-ounce of crack cocaine weighing about 13 grams. There was a second bundle of heroin, also labeled “Instagram,” on the ledge.

Police charged Cottingham with five drug charges, two of them felonies, court records show. He was arraigned July 6 and released. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 14.

Dawkins, when searched, yielded two designer bags of marijuana, a black smartphone that had a marijuana-filled rolling paper on top of the phone, one bundle of heroin marked “TikTok” in black ink, and $760 in cash.

Police again charged Dawkins, this time with three drug charges, one of them a felony. He also was arraigned July 6 and released. His preliminary hearing also is scheduled for Aug. 14.