Police: Man who fled DUI checkpoint caught
State police captured a man wanted on an arrest warrant for allegedly fleeing a weekend DUI checkpoint in Buffalo Township and almost hitting an officer with his minivan.
Troopers early Tuesday arrested 26-year-old Terrell E. Leonard, who authorities say was hiding under a mattress at his girlfriend's apartment in Tarentum, Allegheny County.
District Judge Sue Haggerty later arraigned Leonard on a felony charge of aggravated assault and misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance, simple assault, reckless endangerment, fleeing or attempting to elude police and driving with a suspended license-DUI related.
He also is charged with three traffic violations.
The criminal complaint lists Leonard's home address in New Kensington, Westmoreland County, but he told Haggerty at arraignment that he was homeless.
For now, he is in the Butler County Prison in lieu of $25,000 bail.
Police allege Leonard about 11:30 p.m. Saturday drove up in a Dodge Caravan to a sobriety checkpoint that troopers at the Kittanning station were conducting on Route 28 northbound near exit 17 in Buffalo Township.
Leonard did not have a license, and an officer told him to pull off the road, police said. He traveled onto the side of the road, but did not stop.
Moments later, police said, he went around a vehicle in front of him. Cpl. Christopher Robbins approached the van and tried to get him to stop.
“(Leonard) then fled,” according to charging documents, “causing Cpl. Robbins to take evasive maneuvers to avoid being struck by the vehicle.”
The defendant continued northbound on Route 28 before taking the exit 17 off-ramp. He subsequently crashed, got out of the van and ran away.
In the van, police said they found a plastic bag containing suspected crack cocaine.
On Sunday, police obtained an arrest warrant for Leonard. They eventually went to his girlfriend's home Tuesday. But she denied he was there, police said. Troopers did not believe her.
In turn, about 4:35 a.m. they obtained a search warrant for the apartment in Tarentum, police said, where they found him under a mattress in the bedroom.
