Details emerge in fugitive's arrest that closed Frankstown Road in Penn Hills

A section of Frankstown Road in Penn Hills was closed briefly around 3 p.m. Friday afternoon as the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force served a search warrant and took a Pittsburgh man into custody.

Daelon T. Hill-Johnson, 26, of Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood, was arrested for possession of a firearm while on supervised release, and also has open charges of forgery, identity theft and fleeing police in connection with a May 20 incident in Moon Township, according to U.S. Marshals Supervisory Deputy Jeremy Delano.

Frankstown Road was closed between Janice and Wilson drives in the Frankstown Estates neighborhood.

“He did try to flee the residence and was taken into custody after a short foot pursuit,” Delano said.

Hill-Johnson was identified as the driver who led Moon Township officers on a high-speed chase May 20, after police interrupted an in-progress fraud attempt at the West AirComm Federal Credit Union, according to a criminal complaint.

Police tracked the white Jeep to a woman in Penn Hills, who said she’d let a friend she knew only as “MB” borrow it for a few days, according to court documents.

The woman provided police with an Instagram account she’d used to connect with “MB,” who they later identified as Hill-Johnson. Police discovered the woman had also reported the Jeep stolen to Penn Hills police the same day as the chase.

While the warrant was being served on Friday, marshals came to believe a second wanted person was barricaded inside the same house, according to Allegheny County Police spokesman Jim Madalinsky.

“This individual was not related to the initial warrant and the Allegheny County Police Department’s SWAT team was requested,” Madalinsky said.

A second warrant was obtained and officers entered the home. The second person wasn’t inside and the scene was cleared shortly afterward, police said.

Delano said Hill-Johnson was taken to the Allegheny County Jail, pending a court hearing on Monday.