State police say trooper assaulted in Harmar by Miami man being investigated by DEA

A state trooper working with the DEA task force was assaulted in Harmar on Wednesday by a Miami man who was being investigated by the federal agency, according to authorities.

Jhon Darwyn Canizales Soto, 30, was charged by state police with a felony count of aggravated assault along with resisting arrest and simple assault.

He is being detained in the Allegheny County Jail after a district judge ruled that he was a flight risk and denied bail, according to court records.

Canizales Soto faces a preliminary hearing on May 1 before District Judge David Sosovicka.

Investigators wrote in a criminal complaint that a state trooper working with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Pittsburgh Interdiction Task Force was involved in a “verbal interaction” along Gulf Lab Road on Wednesday, April 12 when he was assaulted by Canizales Soto, who hit the officer so hard he fell into the roadway.

Canizales Soto, who was carrying a backpack that was believed to contain evidence related to the DEA investigation, tried to flee by jumping over a guardrail and running down a steep embankment, the complaint said.

When the trooper caught up to Canizales Soto, the pair struggled and the trooper was punched several times in the head before he was able to subdue the suspect and take him into custody, investigators said.

Two special agents told investigators that they witnessed Canizales Soto assaulting the trooper, the complaint said.

The trooper suffered cuts and bruises on his arms and sought medical attention for pain caused during the assault, according to state police.

Canizales Soto’s identification listed an address in Miami, Fla., and he had a Colombian passport in his possession, investigators said.