Braddock man facing charges after leading police on chase through Monroeville
MONROEVILLE, Pa. (KDKA) - A 22-year-old Braddock man is facing several charges after leading police on a 3.6-mile chase through Monroeville Saturday afternoon that left a sergeant with minor injuries.
According to court records, the incident started at 4:13 p.m. on Monroeville Boulevard when an officer tried to pull over a Chrysler sedan that ran a red light and nearly struck a vehicle at the intersection with Northern Pike.
The driver, identified as Mondale King, drove off, reaching speeds of 75 mph, while traveling through heavy traffic, at one point hitting a black Dodge van.
Anne Klavora was decorating her home for Christmas with her children when she heard the sound of sirens getting louder and louder.
"It all happened very fast," Klavora said.
She watched as the maroon sedan headed down Stepp Drive, followed by a police car.
"We saw a small red car with a white driver's side fender drive past the top of our street," Klavora said. "I thought there was something, you know, going on very close to the house, and I told the kids, 'Come on, let's go inside.'"
In the criminal complaint, police said King turned left from Stepp Drive onto Judy Lane. There, he hit a dead-end, made an illegal U-turn and drove through two front yards before heading back onto Stepp.
Ron Grodecki was on his porch when he saw King drive over a hill on California Avenue and then turn left on Center Street. Seconds later, he heard commands.
"I heard the police telling him to get on the ground, get on the ground," Grodecki said.
The complaint said eventually, King crashed into a stop sign and telephone pole at Center and Kentucky Avenue and then ran off on foot.
Judy Vucic's grandkids heard the commotion and looked out the window.
"They said, 'There's a bad guy,' and then we went over to the window, and we looked out, and we saw the police officers chasing right down the road here after this young man," Vucic said.
They watched King run 10 feet into the woods, followed by five officers.
Court documents said they wrestled him to the ground and took him into custody. In the process, a sergeant received a small laceration to his forehead.
Officers said they found a loaded firearm with an extended capacity magazine on King that wasn't registered to him.
He also had a fraudulent license plate, a suspended license, and a history of firearms not to be carried without a license.
King is charged with two felonies, four misdemeanors and 12 citations for the incident.
"I was glad to hear that they stopped him within our neighborhood before he had time to escape. We felt a lot safer after that," Klavora said.
King posted bond and will be back in court later this month for his preliminary hearing.