Chase suspect pleads guilty
An Allegheny County man pleaded guilty Friday to firearms and traffic violations after he fled from state police during a traffic stop on Route 43 in December 2014.
Deontae Napolean Davis, 21, of McKees Rocks, also pleaded guilty to fleeing and eluding police and reckless endangerment before Washington County Judge John F. DiSalle. Davis had been scheduled for a nonjury trial Friday, but he pleaded guilty instead.
A state trooper was operating radar on the toll road just before noon Dec. 7, 2014, when he said a vehicle driven by Davis was clocked going 82 mph in a 65-mph zone. When the trooper turned on the emergency lights and siren on his cruiser, he said Davis fled north on the toll road.
Police continued to pursue Davis until the right rear tire on his car blew out. He then crashed into a concrete median before hitting an unmarked state police cruiser involved in the pursuit.
Police said Davis and his codefendant, William Darin Moses, 19, of Pittsburgh, who was a front-seat passenger, fled from the vehicle, while two woman remained in the back seat. They said that as Davis and Moses ran, they threw two guns to the ground, along with a bag of marijuana. Police recovered the weapons, a 9mm Smith & Wesson and a .380-caliber Ruger. Moses is scheduled to appear before Washington County Judge Gary Gilman on the matter in October.
DiSalle sentenced Davis to 3 to 6 years in prison and 4 years of probation. Davis was given credit for time served. DiSalle also ordered Davis to complete his GED and barred him from contact with his codefendant.
Assistant District Attorney John Friedmann said Davis was on probation at the time the incident occurred.
“This term of state incarceration will protect the community and start the process of getting Davis on the straight and narrow. If not, then he is in for a life of crime,” he said.
Davis was committed to the county jail on $250,000 bond. He will remain there until he is transferred to a state prison.