Pittsburgh man faces drug, fleeing charges after crash in Harmar turns up $15,000, 2,000 stamp bags

Harmar police are searching for a Pittsburgh man who, they say, had about 2,000 stamp bags of heroin or fentanyl and more than $15,000 in a vehicle he abandoned to flee from police.

Romello Edward Jones, 25, is being charged with one felony count each of carrying a firearm without a license and theft. He also faces misdemeanor charges for drugs, fleeing police and an accident involving damage to another vehicle, unauthorized use of a vehicle and three traffic summary citations.

Just after 10 a.m. Jan. 28, Harmar police attempted to pull over a black Mitsubishi Outlander, driven by Jones, for a suspended registration in the Target parking lot on Freeport Road, according to a criminal complaint.

The SUV accelerated, made a U-turn in the lot and drove away on Freeport Road heading toward Oakmont, police said.

The officer did not pursue the vehicle and instead responded to the report of a white Ford Explorer that had heavy damage to its front bumper on Route 910, the complaint said.

Police later found the Mitsubishi with apparent damage from a crash near the intersection of Route 910 and Freeport Road, the complaint said.

No one was inside the vehicle when police arrived. Witnesses reported they saw a Black man with a blue hooded sweatshirt, later determined to be Jones, running behind a nearby Taco Bell, but police were unable to find anyone matching that description in the area, the complaint said.

Officers opened the Mitsubishi’s doors to make sure no one was trapped inside and saw three rectangular packages wrapped in white butcher paper, believed to be heroin or fentanyl, and about $15,000, the complaint said. Police requested a search warrant, and the vehicle was towed to the Harmar police station.

Later that day, Harmar police said, Jones was seen entering the secured lot of Sunbelt Rentals on Hancock Camp Road, getting into an unlocked pickup and driving away — through a locked gate.

License plate readers identified the pickup at the Pittsburgh Mills mall but were unable to locate the vehicle after it left Frazer, police said. An Arnold police officer found the vehicle unoccupied overnight.

Harmar police searched the Mitsubishi the next day and found that each of the three packages wrapped in butcher paper contained about 500 stamp bags of suspected heroin or fentanyl. Another package wrapped in a black grocery bag also contained about 500 stamp bags, the complaint said.

In addition to the drugs and money, police recovered a Glock handgun, three iPhones and a Cricket cellphone from the front passenger seat. Jones’ driver’s license also was found in the vehicle, police said.

Police found that Jones has a criminal record as a juvenile, which prohibits him from possessing a gun, and was reported to be on federal probation, the complaint said. He also had multiple prior charges of manufacturing a controlled substance and illegally carrying a firearm, police said.

Hamar police Chief Jason Domaratz said Jones is not in custody yet, but there is an active warrant out for his arrest.

Jones is about 6 feet tall and 200 pounds with medium-length dreadlocks, according to the complaint.