Woman Waives Hearing on DUI Charges, Hitting 109 MPH on Penn Avenue

Dania Brittany Agurs, 19, of 6412 Winslow St., waived her right to a preliminary hearing Oct. 18 before District Judge Kim M. Hoots on seven charges relating to an incident where the car she was driving reached a clocked speed of 109.9 mph along Penn Avenue in Wilkinsburg.

Agurs is charged by Wilkinsburg police with providing false identification to law enforcement officers, driving under the influence (general impairment/incapable of driving safely, first offense), driving under the influence (minor, first offense), driving without a license, driving the wrong way on a one-way street, exceeding 35 mph in an urban district by 80 mph and reckless driving.

According to a criminal complaint filed by Wilkinsburg police, an officer was conducting a speed trap in the 200 block of Penn Avenue on Oct. 10 when an Audi traveling east on Penn Avenue clocked a speed of 109.09 mph. The officer noted the car did not have its headlights on.

The car slowed while approaching Pennwood Avenue, then turned onto Hay Street and made a turn onto Wallace Avenue, traveling the wrong way on the one-way street. The car came to a stop in the 700 block of Wallace.

The officer detected the odor of alcohol on the driver, who at first gave police a false name but was identified as Agurs. She agreed to field sobriety tests, but failed them. A breath analyzer test showed her blood alcohol content at .130 and .134, above the legal limit.

In other cases:

• Aaron Wilson, 19, of 226 Marshall Dr., Penn Hills, had six charges dismissed and two moved to non-traffic charges after his preliminary hearing before Hoots last week. According to a criminal complaint, Wilson had failed to stop for Edgewood police in the 200 block of East Swissvale Avenue on April 28, then fled from police after abandoning the car. The car rolled and hit the foundation of a house on Francis Street as Wilson ran into the woods. Swissvale police helped set up a perimeter and Wilson was apprehended at the intersection of Waverly and Noble streets in Swissvale. An officer detected a strong smell of marijuana in the car and recovered a small amount of marijuana from the ashtray and driver's side floor. Charges of disorderly conduct-engaging in fighting and driving without a license were moved to non-traffic violations. Charges of fleeing or attempting to elude police officers, intentional possesion of a controlled substance by a person not registered, two counts of failure to stop at a red signal and two counts of duties at a stop sign were dismissed.

• Marc Christian, 44, of 1006 Lincoln Ave., Duquesne, was held for court on charges of operating/permitting operation with unsafe equipment, blood alcohol content .02 or higher (third offense), driving under the influence of alcohol (blood alcohol content . 16+, second offense), driving under the influence (general impairment/incapable of driving safely, second offense) and reckless driving. According to a criminal complaint filed, a Wilkinsburg police offcer saw a car with its headlights off cross over the center yellow line in the 800 block of Penn Avenue and nearly strike another vehicle as it turned onto Swissvale Avenue on Sept. 16. After initiating a traffic stop, the officer saw Christian exhibit signs of intoxication. Christian failed field sobriety tests and refused a breath analyzer test. He was taken to night court for arraignment.

• Gerchard Brian Luck Jr., 21, of 426 Ella St., Wilkinsburg was held for court on charges of intentional possession of a controlled substance by a person not registered, possession of marijuana, use/possession of drug paraphernalia and disorderly conduct-hazardous/physical offense filed by Port Authority police. According to a criminal complaint, a Port Authority officer observed two men smoking a suspected marijuana joint at the Hamnett Station in Swissvale though a closed-circuit television system. Both men were approached and admitted smoking marijuana. The officer found two plastic bags of marijuana and four stamp bags of heroin in Luck's pants pocket, the complaint stated.

• Jarell Stenhouse, 27, of 523 Kelly Ave., Wilkinsburg waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol/controlled substance, driving under the influence of a controlled substance (combination of alcohol and drugs, first offense), driving an unregistered vehicle, driving while operating privileges suspended or revoked, driving with no headlights and two counts of operating/permitting operation with unsafe equipment. On June 19, a Wilkinsburg police officer observed Stenhouse driving a car on Swissvale Avenue near Stoner Way with a non-functioning driver's side headlight. The officer checked on the vehicle and found that the registration for the car had expired in 1989. He noticed that Stenhouse exhibited signs of intoxication and detected a strong odor of burnt marijuana and faint odor of alcohol on Stenhouse's breath. According to a criminal complaint, Stenhouse failed field sobriety tests. He submitted to a blood test at Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville. Wilkinsburg police filed the charges.

• Robert James Thomas, 24, of 1306 Ferris Court, Homewood-Brushton, waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of possession of marijuana, use/possession of drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance and reckless driving filed by Wilkinsburg police. A Wilkinsburg officer monitoring traffic on Penn Avenue on May 11 near Montier Street heard tires screeching and an engine rapidly accelerating, then saw the vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed, then turn into the Exxon station. According to a criminal complaint, the officer detected the strong odor of burnt marijuana eminating from the passenger side. Thomas refused field sobriety and blood tests. The officer discovered six marijuana "blunts" in the ashtray and recovered a blunt splitter keychain. 

• Phillip Jonathan Bubin, 48, of 2930 Walters Ct., Export, waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of driving under the influence (general impairment/incapable of driving safely, first offense) and driving under the influence (highest rate of alcohol, blood alcohol content .16+, first offense) filed by Edgewood police. According to a criminal complaint, an Edgewood officer on patrol Aug. 20 observed a Saab stopped in the roadway in the 500 block of Allenby Avenue with Bubin slumped into the steering wheel. The officer noticed that the driver had vomited on himself and exhibited signs of intoxication. He detected the odor of alcohol coming from Bubin. After problems getting Bubin to park the car, police had him exit the vehicle. He needed support from two officers to maintain his balance and was deemed unable to attempt field sobriety tests without injuring himself, the complaint stated. He was transported to the station and vomited several more times there and when he was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital for a blood alcohol test. He was admitted to the hospital for care.

• Meijour Fredrick White, 22, of 1016 Findley Drive, Wilkinsburg waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of possession of firearm prohibited; two counts of conspiracy, manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver; and intentional possession of a controlled substance by a person not registered. According to a criminal complaint filed by Wilkinsburg police, officers were dispatched to the above residence for a false report. However, while on site, officers detected the obvious smell of burning marijuana coming from a bedroom where White was sitting in front of his television. During a search of the apartment, police discovered a fully loaded .38 Taurus revolver in White's jacket pocket. The gun was not listed as registered, the complaint stated. Officers also found a clear plastic bag containing 63 white stamp bags containing suspected heroin under a mattress in the room. White and another occupant of the apartment were taken to Allegheny County Jail for arraignment.

• Tawana Hamilton, 33 of 1016 Hill Ave., Wilkinsburg waived her right to a preliminary hearing on charges of intentional possession of a controlled substance by a person not registered and tampering with/fabricating physical evidence filed by Wilkinsburg police. According to a criminal complaint, Wilkinsburg police observed Hamilton conduct a suspected drug transaction involving another woman that police believed was crack cocaine on Feb. 2 at the Exxon station on Penn Avenue in Wilkinsburg. Police placed Hamilton and two other persons at the scene under arrested and transported all three to the Allegheny County Jail. Additional charges of conspiracy-intentional possession of a controlled substance by a person not registered and two counts of manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver filed against Hamilton were withdrawn.

• Starr Ebony Lee, 28, of 2825 Sarah St., South Side, was held for court on charges of endangering the welfare of children-parent, guardian, other commits offense and simple assault filed by Wilkinsburg police. According to a criminal complaint filed by Wilkinsburg police, Lee and the owner of a day care facility got into a dispute Sept. 1 when Lee attempted to drop off her child for overnight care and the owner refused as Lee had been advised she would no longer be able to obtain child care services because of non-payment of prior services. As Lee left the facility, she struck a parked vehicle. Additional charges of burglary and theft by unlawful taking were withdrawn. 

• Antonio Spearman, 24, of 101 Lloyd Ave., Apt. 8, Edgewood waived his right to a preliminary hearing on indecent assault without the consent of other filed by Edgewood police. According to a criminal complaint, Spearman had made unwanted sexual advances toward an acquaintance staying in his apartment on Aug. 11. He was transported after questioning at the Edgewood police station to the Allegheny County Jail. Additional charges of open lewdness and disorderly conduct-hazardous/physical offense were withdrawn.

• Brandon Duane Jones, 20, of 421 Franklin Ave., Wilkinsburg, waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of burglary and receiving stolen property filed by Wilkinsburg police. According to a criminal complaint, after being developed as a suspect in the burglary of a Mifflin Avenue home on Aug. 3, Jones admitted in an interview with police that he and a partner had entered the home and that he had taken a laptop computer. 

• Kenneth Lee Chambers, 41, of 1949 Delaware Ave., Swissvale waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of operating/permitting operation with unsafe equipment and intentional possession of a controlled substance by a person not registered. On Oct. 2, a Wilkinsburg officer stopped on Stoner Way at Penn Avenue observed a red Dodge traveling eastbound on Penn that failed to use a turn signal onto Montier Street. The car also had a shattered windshield on the driver's side. According to the criminal complaint, the officer also noticed Chambers making movements inside the car. While checking the inside of the car, the officer found a knotted plastic bag inside a fast-food bag that appeared to be full of an off-white substance believed by the officer to be crack cocaine. A steel crack pipe was also found in the car. Additional charges of use/possession of drug paraphernalia, driving while operating privileges are suspended or revoked and turning movements/required signals were withdrawn.

• Charmaine Holloway, 33, of 432 Ella St., Wilkinsburg waived her right to a preliminary hearing on a charge of retail theft-take merchandise filed by Edgewood police. According to a criminal complaint, a loss prevention officer at Giant Eagle in Edgewood Towne Centre observed Holloway and an accomplice placing items into their almost empty purses. Both women were stopped by loss prevention staff just outside the store. Holloway had concealed a box of vanilla cookies, baby wipes, iced tea and salad bar items valued at $28.59. Because of six previous retail theft offenses, this offense is considered a felony, the complaint stated. 

• Jamal Harrington, 23, of 816 Holland Ave., Wilkinsburg waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of burglary, conspiracy-burglary and receiving stolen property filed by Wilkinsburg police. According to a criminal complaint, Harrington and an accomplice broke into a home on Holland Avenue on Aug. 3, stealing a flat-screen television, DVD player, professional camera and laptop computer. The television and DVD player were recovered at a pawn shop. In a second case, Harrington waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of burglary, conspiracy-burglary and receiving stolen property in connection with another burglary on Mifflin Avenue the same day.

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