Police: Foot chase to Jeannette home leads to drug bust
A Jeannette man allegedly led agents from the state attorney general’s office on a foot chase to his home Tuesday where they found drugs and cash, according to court papers.
Damone Akeir Morton, 24, was being held in the Westmoreland County Prison on $20,000 bail on charges of aggravated assault, drug possession, resisting arrest and related offenses.
Agents were investigating on 15th Street when they were approached by Morton, who was riding a motorized scooter. Morton asked the agents if they were looking for him, and they said they weren’t, according to court papers.
Morton allegedly pushed one of the agents in the chest and took off on foot, fleeing into a home on South 12th Street, police said. Agents got inside and found heroin, Xanax bars, prescription medication, $3,000 and items used for packaging drugs, according to court papers.
Also arrested was Gessica A. Merlin, 22, of Jeannette. Merlin is charged with drug possession. She is free on $20,000 unsecured bond. A phone number for her could not be located.
Neither suspect had an attorney listed in online court records. Preliminary hearings are set for Sept. 26.
Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.