Pittsburgh, PA (PPP)— A 29-year-old Pittsburgh man is facing drug charges after his arrest in Pittsburgh’s East Allegheny neighborhood.

The arrest was made by officers of the Pittsburgh Police Department while they were patrolling the area in a marked City of Pittsburgh vehicle. The officers observed a group of people near the rear entrance of a building, and as they approached, they noticed a push rod sticking out of Lucas Tovcimak-Savage’s front left pants pocket.

Upon requesting identification and running a check, Tovcimak-Savage was found to have five active arrest warrants through the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office.

Tovcimak-Savage was then placed under arrest and searched, revealing a used glass crack pipe, multiple used needles, and the wooden push rod on his person and inside his backpack. Additionally, a small blue plastic baggie containing a small amount of crack cocaine was found inside the brim of his winter hat.

Name: Lucas Tovcimak-Savage
Gender: Male
Age: 29

Agency: Pittsburgh Police Department

Court: Magisterial District Court 05-0-03
Docket Number: MJ-05003-CR-0001504-2023
Date Filed: March 17, 2023

Bail: $1,000 monetary
Confinement: Allegheny County Jail
Confinement Reason: Unable to post bail.

Criminal Charges

1. Prohibited acts – possession (Misdemeanor)
2. Prohibited acts (Misdemeanor)

Affidavit of Probable Cause
On Friday, March 17, 2023 at 1856 hours, I, Officer K. Clark (unit 3141) and Officer D. Bertan (Unit 3142) were on a proactive patrol in the East Allegheny neighborhood. We were patrolling in full uniform and driving a marked City of Pittsburgh vehicle (Unit 3191). This neighborhood has received numerous complaints for various crimes. This area is well known as a high drug-trafficking, prostitution and violent crime area. Myself and multiple other Zone 1 Officer and Detectives have made numerous arrests in this area over the past year.

On this day, Officer Bertan and I were traveling on Emlin Street near Middle Street when we located a group of people near the rear entrance of a building. There have been many arrests in this alleyway that involved drugs. We parked our patrol vehicle and walked up the group to complete a mere encounter with them. While speaking with one males as he gathered his belongings, I observed a push rod sticking out of his front left pants pocket. He was carrying a camo backpack which was open and Officer Bertan observed a crack pipe in plain view. At this time, I advised the male what we had observed and requested identification. He provided the name of Lucas Tovcimak-Savage. I was able to verify his identity through NCIC. Upon running Tovcimak, he came back with five positive arrest warrants through the ACSO Office. He stated multiple times that he was homeless.

Tovcimak-Savage was placed into handcuffs at 1910 hours. The handcuffs were double-locked and checked for tightness. Tovcimak was searched incident to arrest. Officers recovered a used glass crack pipe (EX A), multiple used needles (Ex B), and the wooden push rod (Ex C). All of these items will be destroyed in the Zone 1 Sharps container. Upon locating the needles. I asked Tovcimak if he had a reason to carry needles and he stated no. These Items were located on his person and inside of camo backpack which Tovcimak had with him and claimed as his. I asked him if he had anything else on his person which he stated he did, and it was located inside of the brim on his winter hat. Inside the brim of the hat, I located as mall blue plastic baggie containing a small amount of crack cocaine (Ex 1). The crack cocaine will be sent to the crime lab for testing.

Index confirmed with the ACSO that the 5 arrest warrants were valid. Tovcimak-Savage was transported to the ACJ without incident by myself and Officer Bertan according to all policy and procedures. He was accepted at the jail and advised his backpack would be placed in the Zone 1 30-Day Hold. This arrest will also clear the following ACSO warrants OTN: G871031-0, G877212-0, G877201-3, G876981-0, and G876917-6.