Police say teen passenger in car pulled over in Arnold had illegal gun, was selling drugs

A passenger in a car pulled over by Arnold police for having a broken headlight was accused of selling drugs and illegally carrying a gun.

Charles Lawrence Bacon, 18, of the 500 block of Marion Street in East Deer was charged with two counts of possession of drugs with the intent to deliver and a count of illegal possession of a firearm, which are felonies, along with a count of drug possession.

Bacon is being detained in the Westmoreland County jail after a judge ruled he is a danger to the community and denied setting bail, court records show. Court documents cite prior gun charges as the reason for the bail decision.

He faces a preliminary hearing Thursday, Nov. 30 before District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr.

An Arnold patrol officer wrote in a criminal complaint that he was on patrol near Fourth Avenue and 16th Street on Nov. 19 when he pulled over a vehicle It had a broken headlamp and was reportedly involved in a burglary the previous day, according to a criminal complaint.

A passenger in the front seat, Devon Curtis Jones, 20, of Pittsburgh was ordered out of the vehicle when he began “tucking items and reaching for the center console,” the complaint said.

Jones told the officer he was wanted on an arrest warrant; he was taken into custody.

Court records show that on Oct. 4, Arnold police charged Jones with misdemeanor counts of simple assault and making terroristic threats, but that he failed to appear for his preliminary hearing before Pallone on Nov. 2.

Jones is being detained in the Westmoreland County jail in lieu of a $100,000 cash bond to await a hearing before Pallone on Thursday, Nov. 30, court records show.

Police said Bacon, who was seated in the back of the vehicle, was ordered to show his hands after repeatedly reaching for his jacket pocket and placing his hands in between his legs, according to the complaint.

Police said Bacon was arrested after he told them he had a gun.

A loaded pistol with a bullet in the chamber ready to fire was found inside his jacket pocket, according to police.

Police searched Bacon and confiscated 16 individually wrapped rocks of crack cocaine, nine packets of heroin and a package of marijuana, the complaint said.