Apr 3, 2019 3 min read

After a woman’s boyfriend was stabbed multiple times, she drove him nearly 27 miles from her Stowe Township home to Washington Hospital, where she was arrested for being in possession of more than 200 stamp bags of suspected heroin.

Jessica Rugani, 36, of 510 Marwood Ave., faces a felony charge of possession with intent to deliver, as well as a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance.

Washington police were dispatched to the hospital about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the criminal complaint.

A police report states that Rugani found Michael Daugherty, 42, of Pittsburgh, in her home with multiple stab wounds to his chest and side. The Allegheny County Police Homicide Unit is investigating the stabbing.

Rugani’s residence is just north of Stowe Township’s border with McKees Rocks, and there are at least four hospitals within a 10-mile radius of Rugani’s home. Sgt. Nando Costa of Allegheny County Police said Daugherty had an active warrant for his arrest due to a parole violation, and Rugani drove him to Washington in an attempt to avoid his arrest.

“They ended up flying him back to Pittsburgh,” Costa said.

Costa did not specify to which hospital Daugherty was flown but said he is in stable condition. Costa said the stabbing is being investigated as an attempted homicide and aggravated assault case, but that there are currently no suspects.

According to the complaint, while police talked to Rugani, they were informed that surveillance footage of the parking lot showed her removing “what appeared to be suspected heroin” from Daugherty in her vehicle.

“Officers advised Rugani of what was observed on the video, at which time she admitted that she had ‘it’ on her, at which time she quickly placed her hands in her jacket pockets,” the complaint states.

Rugani was ordered to take her hands out of her pockets and step away from police, according to the complaint. She was restrained, and a clear plastic bag was removed from her jacket pocket.

According to the complaint, the bag contained about 200 stamp bags of suspected heroin marked “Family Guy” and an additional 10 stamp bags marked “Bart Simpson.”

There also was oxycodone and other prescription medication in the bag, and Rugani could not produce any prescriptions for the drugs, the complaint states.

Rugani was placed in Washington County jail. She was arraigned Wednesday morning before District Judge Jesse Pettit, who set bond at $7,500. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. April 10 before Pettit.