Police: Man who fled from stolen car in Springdale arrested same day trying to steal another one

Police say a man who fled from officers after the stolen car he was driving went over a hillside in Springdale Township was arrested later the same day when he tried to steal another one.

Joshua James Short, 20, whose last known address was in Pittsburgh’s Chateau neighborhood, was charged by Allegheny Valley Regional Police with two felony counts of receiving stolen property and felony theft along with resisting arrest, making terroristic threats, receiving stolen property and two counts of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Short was being held in the Allegheny County Jail in lieu of a $2,000 cash bond, according to court records. He faces a preliminary hearing Oct. 3 before District Judge David Sosovicka.

An officer wrote in the criminal complaint charging Short that he responded to Agan Park on Riddle Run Road shortly after noon Wednesday, Sept. 21 to assist another officer involved in a foot chase.

Police said Short took off running into the woods after the car he was driving went over a hillside and got stuck, the complaint said.

Police said Short, who gave them his name before fleeing, was driving a black BMW that was reported stolen from Pittsburgh.

Officers searched the area with police dogs but were unable to locate Short, the complaint said.

Shortly after 7:30 p.m. the same day, officers responded to Valleyview Street, also in Springdale Township, for a call about a man “screaming for help,” the complaint said.

When officers arrived, they found Short pinned to the ground by a man who told them Short tried to steal his car, the complaint said.

The man told police he was in his house when his daughter told him she saw someone get inside the family’s 2014 Toyota sedan and drive off.

The man used his wife’s car to chase after the Toyota and was able to block the road and prevent Short from getting away, the complaint said.

The man told police Short got out of the vehicle and told him, “I don’t want to hurt you” before getting back in the car to drive off.

Short, however, was not able to get the car started, so he tried to escape from the passenger-side door, the complaint said.

The man told police he grabbed Short, pinned him to the ground and struggled with him until police arrived, the complaint said.

Police said they found the keys to the stolen BMW in Short’s possession along with several credit cards and two identification cards that did not belong to him.