State police staked out Felipe Vazquez after Pirates game at PNC Park in 2019

In an effort to find where in Pittsburgh the Pirates once-heralded relief pitcher Felipe Vazquez lived, state police staked out PNC Park last year and a trooper followed him as he left the stadium, according to testimony.

Vazquez got the final four outs, three by strikeout, in the Pirates’ 9-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sept. 6. After the game, the closer climbed into his Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat muscle car to head home.

Unbeknownst to him at the time was the fact he was being followed by Trooper Glenn Adams.

Vazquez, 29, was at the center of an investigation into sexual assault allegations involving a girl.

Adams testified during a pretrial motion hearing Thursday that he stopped Vazquez at 11:30 p.m. on Smallman Street in Pittsburgh’s Strip District after he allegedly failed to use a turn signal twice as he drove from the North Side ballpark.

“I believe I advised him I was going to issue him a warning that night,” Adams testified.

The trooper got Vazquez’s Strip District address and telephone number, neither of which investigators had at that point. Vazquez’s attorney, Gary Gerson, argued the “pretextual” stop was illegal. Adams said he did not issue a warning.

“There was no violation of the vehicle code or justification for that stop,” Gerson said.

Vazquez is accused of having improper sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl in Scottdale in 2017 and two years later with the same accuser after she moved to Florida. He was arrested in Pittsburgh later in September and faces charges in Florida.

According to court records, police found pictures of Vazquez and his accuser in states of undress and performing sex acts. Text messages also were found that suggested a sexual liaison between the pitcher and the teen.

Troopers testified Thursday about their actions on the day Vazquez was arrested and his home, computer and phone were searched. Gerson claims the evidence was the product of an illegal search and should be barred from being presented in an upcoming trial.

Gerson also argues that Vazquez’s limited understanding of English should be taken into consideration and his statement to police should be tossed. In court filings, he said the statement was improperly obtained because he was in police custody and didn’t have an opportunity to contact a lawyer.

A native of Venezuela, Vazquez understands some English and is able to communicate. He has been in the United States for work since 2010, Gerson said.

Assistant District Attorney Jim Lazar said Vazquez has not had an interpreter at previous hearings. An interpreter was not in court Thursday.

“If the defendant had a rudimentary understanding of the English language, he has a right to have an interpreter here,” Lazar said.

Vazquez is being held without bond in the Westmoreland County Prison as he awaits trial, which has yet to be scheduled. He is charged with statutory sexual assault and other offenses and in a separate filing was charged with additional counts of possession of child pornography and unlawful contact with a minor.

Vazquez is facing similar charges in Florida based on allegations from the same victim. This year, the pitcher was charged in St. Louis on accusations he sent pornographic pictures of himself to the same teen while he was in that city playing baseball.

Judge Scott Mears said he will ask attorneys to submit briefs outlining their arguments. He will rule on the motions later. The hearing will resume July 30.