Troopers accuse man accused of fleeing traffic stop in North Belle Vernon

State troopers said they identified a 31-year-old man accused of fleeing a traffic stop Saturday and leading police on a chase for several blocks through North Belle Vernon after he jumped out of his pickup and left behind his cellphone.

Lorenzo D. Russell, 31, of Monessen, was arraigned Wednesday in Westmoreland County night court on counts of manufacturing, delivery and possession of a controlled substance, fleeing police, resisting arrest, reckless driving, abandoning a vehicle on a highway and multiple traffic offenses.

Trooper Zachary Jasper of the Belle Vernon barracks said he was patrolling about 12:20 a.m. Saturday along Arch Street when he noticed the 2004 Dodge Ram pickup truck ahead of him with inoperable rear lights.

Jasper said he stopped the vehicle and as he approached, smelled burning marijuana. According to court documents, he asked Russell for his driver’s license and registration but as Russell patted his coat pockets “he quickly grabbed the gear shift and placed the vehicle into drive.”

The trooper said he pursued the speeding vehicle several blocks to Fayette Street, where Russell abandoned it while it was still moving. Police said he fled through several yards.

The truck drifted into a utility pole, and Jasper had to secure it before he could pursue Russell, according to court records. Troopers confiscated multiple stamp bags of suspected heroin, a small amount of marijuana, a glass smoking pipe and the cell phone.

Several business cards from Russell’s landscaping business were in the truck. The phone number of the business matched the recovered cell phone number, Jasper said.

Russell was ordered held in the county prison after failing to post $50,000 bond pending a June 6 preliminary hearing.

He did not have an attorney listed in court documents.