An Upper St. Clair Township man is in the Allegheny County Jail on numerous charges related to the theft of an SUV and a subsequent police chase through the township, court records show.
All but one of the 16 charges against Aaron M. Gold, 34, of Gerrie Drive, were waived on Monday for Allegheny County Court. The other—aggravated assault—was dismissed by Judge Eugene L. Zielmanski at the Bethel Park-Upper St. Clair magistrate's office.
Upper St. Clair police chased Gold by vehicle and then by foot until he fell into a creek near Franklin Drive and Hays Road at around 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 6 and was arrested, according to a police criminal complaint.
Following Monday's preliminary hearing, Gold remains charged with three counts of theft from a motor vehicle, two counts each of resisting arrest and access device fraud, and one count each of driving under the influence of alcohol, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, fleeing or attempting to elude police, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, recklessly endangering another person, driving at a safe speed and reckless driving.
At around 1:15 p.m. on Sept. 6, a USC police officer observed Gold on Sunnyfield Drive operating an SUV that matched the description of a vehicle that was reported as stolen in the township the day before, the complaint reads.
The vehicle's license plate number was a match, and the officer, with backup from another Upper St. Clair police officer, stopped Gold on Lindenwood Drive near Phillip Drive.
According to the complaint, Gold turned the SUV's engine off upon being ordered to by police but drifted in neutral and eventually turned onto a hill down Phillip. One officer chased Gold on foot but eventually stopped when the SUV picked up speed down the hill.
Gold then turned the SUV's engine back on and sped away, police say, with the other officer pursuing now by vehicle. That chase eventually ended up back at the start of the initial stop, and when Gold lost control of the SUV during a 180-degree turn near Hays, he abandoned that vehicle and started running into the backyards of the 100 block of Hays.
Both police officers now chased Gold on foot, the complaint reads, until Gold stumbled down the creek embankment and was handcuffed.
After his arrest, police detected an odor of alcohol coming from Gold's breath, and Gold admitted to recently drinking, the complaint reads.
He is being held on $10,000 bail.
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