Pittsburgh, PA (PPP)— On March 17th, an officer from the Shaler Police Department pulled over a black Ford Explorer traveling northbound on RT 28. Upon checking the vehicle’s registration, it was discovered that it was under a type F suspension for insurance cancellation.

The officer requested the driver’s license, registration card, and proof of insurance, but the driver was unable to provide the registration card or any proof of insurance. While speaking with the driver, the officer could smell marijuana coming from the vehicle and noticed that the driver’s eyes were red and glassy.

When backup officers arrived, they believed the driver was likely smoking marijuana and driving. They requested that the driver exit the vehicle for the purpose of field sobriety testing.

While one officer approached the front seat passenger, later identified as Jerome Gilmore, he saw a black plastic interior waistband firearm holster fall from his person and onto the ground. The officer requested Gilmore exit the vehicle and asked where the firearm was at. Gilmore denied having a firearm even though an empty holster had fallen from his person. After a pat down of Gilmore’s person, another officer performed a wingspan search of the front passenger seat area and found a firearm under the seat.

Both Gilmore and the driver were detained in handcuffs, and two firearms were secured. Gilmore denied having a concealed carry permit, and a search incident to arrest of his person yielded one additional live round of .40 caliber ammunition. The officers learned that Gilmore had an active arrest warrant out of the city of Pittsburgh for burglary, and upon running both firearms through County Index, it was discovered that the Smith&Wesson was reported stolen out of Uniontown, PA.

Gilmore was escorted to the booking room where he was read his Miranda Warnings. He admitted to carrying the firearm for his protection. The driver was also escorted to the booking room and read his Miranda Warnings. He claimed that the firearm found under the driver’s seat belonged to his girlfriend, who had purchased it from a pawn shop in Duquesne. A search of the driver’s person was conducted and yielded negative results.

The driver agreed to standardized field sobriety testing, but displayed numerous signs of impairment throughout the course of the tests. Based on the officer’s observations, it was believed that the driver was incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle, and he was arrested for DUI. The incident vehicle was towed to the Shaler Township Police station, where the driver consented to a search of the vehicle. A gray digital scale with green residue was located on the front passenger seat, but no further contraband was found in the vehicle.

Gilmore was charged with persons not to possess, use, manufacture, control, sell or transfer firearms, receiving stolen property, carrying a firearm without a license, and prohibited acts. He was confined to the Allegheny County Jail.

Name: Jerome Javonte Gilmore
Gender: Male
Age: 29

Agency: Shaler Police Department

Court: Magisterial District Court 05-2-03
Docket Number: MJ-05203-CR-0000132-2023
Date Filed: March 18, 2023

Bail: $5,000
Confinement: Allegheny County Jail
Confinement Reason: Unable to post bail

Criminal Charges

1. Persons not to possess, use, manufacture, control, sell or transfer firearms, Felony 1
2. Receiving stolen property, Felony 2
3. Carrying firearm without a license, Felony 3
4. Prohibited acts, Misdemeanor

Affidavit of Probable Cause
Your Affiant, Officer Kevin Cooney, is a Law Enforcement Officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania within the meaning of Section 5702 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code and as such, is empowered to make arrests for criminal offenses enumerated therein. I have been a police officer in this capacity since December 2016, having worked for the East Deer Township, Upper Burrell Township, Lincoln Borough, and Shaler Township police departments. I have been employed with the Shaler Township Police Department since February of 2018. I have received training from the Westmoreland County Community College Police Academy, the Allegheny County Police Academy, and the Institute for Law Enforcement Education. During the course of my career, I have been directly involved with numerous investigations and arrests relating to offenses enumerated within the Pennsylvania Crimes Code, Drug Device and Cosmetic Act, and Vehicle Code. I am a trained Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) practitioner, as well as a trained Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) practitioner. I am also currently certified to administer DataMaster DMT/BAC breath testing.

On 03/17/2023 at 01:44 hours, I was on patrol traveling Northbound on RT 28. At this time I observed a black in color Ford Explorer, bearing PA registration ███, traveling Northbound on RT 28. Upon running the vehicle registration through my MDT (checking for compliance with PA VC 1301a) it was learned that the registration was under a type F suspension for insurance cancellation. I activated my emergency lights and sirens to initiate a traffic stop on the said vehicle. The vehicle pulled to the right shoulder of the roadway and came to a stop just before exit 5A. County Dispatch was advised of the traffic stop and location. Ofc Szalla and Ofc Kriebel responded to assist.

Upon approach of the vehicle, I spoke with the driver, who was identified as ███████. I saw that he had just lit a cigarette. I requested his driver’s license, registration card, and proof of insurance. I advised him of the reason for the traffic stop, informing him that his registration was suspended for insurance cancellation. Mr. ███ explained that the insurance on the vehicle had lapsed, and he was in the process of having the vehicle insured again. He was unable to provide me with the registration card or any proof of insurance. As I spoke with Mr. ███, I could detect a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. I noticed that Mr. ███’s eyes were red and glassy. I asked if he had anything to drink or smoke tonight. He initially said no. I advised him that I could smell marijuana coming from the vehicle. He told me that the smell was from marijuana roaches in the center console. I could clearly see several burnt marijuana roaches in the center console. Mr. ███ had provided me with his driver’s license. I did return to the patrol vehicle to run this given information.

County Dispatch did confirm that the registration was under a type F suspension. Once Ofc Szalla and Ofc Kriebel arrived on scene I advised them of the matter. I further believed that Mr. ███ was likely smoking marijuana and driving. He was requested from the vehicle for the purpose of field sobriety testing. While I requested him from the vehicle, Ofc Szalla made an approach on the passenger side and engaged with the front seat passenger, later identified as Jerome Gilmore. Ofc Szalla asked for Mr. Gilmore to open the passenger door. When Mr. Gilmore open the door, a black plastic interior waistband firearm holster fell from his person and onto the ground. Ofc Szalla requested Mr. Gilmore from the vehicle and asked where the firearm was at. Mr. Gilmore denied having a firearm even though a empty holster just fell from his person. Officer Szalla conducted a pat down of Mr. Gilmore’s person for weapons with negative results. Ofc Szalla performed a wingspan search of the front passenger seat area. Ofc Szalla advised Ofc Kriebel and I that there was a firearm under the front passenger seat.

At this point, both Mr. Gilmore and Mr. ███ were detained in handcuffs, which were double locked and checked for tightness. I retrieved the firearm from underneath the passenger seat. I observed that it was pointed with the barrel toward the rear of the vehicle and the magazine well was facing up. The firearm was a silver/black Smith&Wesson .40 caliber bearing serial number DYH5355. The firearm was secured, and the magazine was found to contain 12 hollowpoint rounds of ammunition with 1 additional round in the chamber. Ofc Kriebel did conduct a wingspan search of the driver seat area. He advised that there was a second firearm located under the driver seat. This weapon was a black Glock 35 .40 caliber pistol, serial number BDPL272, with a 22 round extended magazine. The firearm was secured, and the magazine was found to contain 12 live rounds of hollowpoint ammunition.

Ofc Szalla asked Mr. Gilmore if he possessed a concealed carry permit which he denied. Officer Szalla then conducted a search incident to arrest of Mr. Gilmore’s person, at which time he located 1 additional live round of .40 caliber ammunition in his front left jeans pocket.

Ofc Szalla ran Mr. Gilmore’s OLN information through County Dispatch and confirmed that he did not possess a concealed carry permit. It was further learned that Mr. Gilmore had an active arrest warrant out of the city of Pittsburgh for burglary. It was also learned that Mr. ███ did not possess a concealed carry permit either. Upon running both firearms through County Index, it was learned that the Smith&Wesson was reported stolen out of Uniontown, PA. A hit confirmation request was later sent to the PA State Police, who confirmed that the firearm was stolen (PSP report 1304-2159897).

Critchlows was requested to respond to tow the vehicle. The registration plate was seized from the vehicle and will be sent back to PennDot. Ofc Kriebel and I transported Mr. Gilmore and Mr. ███ to Shafer Township Police Station for further processing. All times and mileage were logged. Ofc Szalla remained on scene with the vehicle. Critchlows arrived on scene and towed the vehicle to Shaler Township Police station.

Once at the police station, Mr. Gilmore was escorted into the booking room. The handcuffs were removed from his person, and he was read his Miranda Warnings. When asked about the firearm found below the passenger seat, he told me that he carries it for his protection. He was searched with no contraband located. He was lodged in holding cell #2 for the time being.

Mr. ███ was then escorted into the booking room, where the handcuffs were removed. I could still detect a strong odor of marijuana coming from his person. He was also read his Miranda Warnings. When asked about the firearm found below the driver seat, he told me that it belonged to his girlfriend ███████. Ofc Szalla did later contact ███████ and asked about the firearm. She said that she had purchased it from a pawn shop in Duquesne. She further claimed that she had not seen her firearm in a couple of days. She was unable to tell officers what caliber the Glock 35 was, but was aware that another pistol she had bought was a Ruger 9mm.

A search of Mr. ███’s person was conducted which yielded negative results. I then explained to him that I wanted to ensure that he was not impaired, and requested that he submit to standardized field sobriety testing. He agreed to the field sobriety testing. The field sobriety tests were conducted in the Shaler Township Police station booking room. This provided for a flat, dry, and well-lit testing area that was free of debris. Prior to administering any of the field sobriety tests, I asked Mr. ███ if he had any medical conditions that would prevent him from successfully performing the tests, to which he said no. All tests were thoroughly explained and demonstrated to Mr. ███ prior to having him attempt them.

Mr. ███ displayed numerous signs of impairment throughout the course of the tests. During the HGN test, Mr. ███ failed to keep his head still as instructed. A lack of smooth pursuit was not observed in either eye. Distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation was not observed in either eye. Onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees was not observed ion either eye. VGN was not observed in either eye. 0 of 6 total clues were observed.

During the walk and turn tests, Mr. ███ failed to count any of his steps out loud. He failed to walk in a heel to toe manner on every single step: He stepped off the line, made an improper turn, and paused walking after the turn. He did not count any of his steps on the return and missed heel to toe on every step. 4 of 8 total clues were observed for this test.

During the one leg stand test, Mr. ███ elected to raise his left foot off the ground. He swayed back and forth and was off balance. He dropped his left foot once at the count of one-thousand-twenty-two. He attempted to raise his right foot but dropped it once. 2 of 4 total clues were observed for this test.

During the lack of convergence test, a lack of convergence was observed in Mr. ███’s left eye. During the modified Romberg balance test, Mr. ███ displayed rapid eyelid tremors. He estimated the passage of 30 seconds in 34.06 seconds.

Upon completion of the field sobriety tests, I asked Mr. ███ when was the last time he smoked marijuana. He did eventually tell me that he had been smoking at relative’s residence prior to driving. I explained to him that he could not smoke marijuana and then drive. Based upon my observations, I believed that Mr. ███ was incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle. I advised him that he was now under arrest for DUI.

The incident vehicle had been towed to the Shaler Township Police station. I requested consent to search the vehicle from Mr. ███. He granted verbal consent and signed a consent to search waiver, indicating such. Ofc Kriebel, Ofc Szalla, and I conducted the consent search in the sally port of the police station. A gray digital scale with green residue was located on the front passenger seat. Ofc Szalla did advise me that he had previously observed this scale in the center console during his wingspan search, and had placed it on the passenger seat. No further contraband was found in the vehicle. Mr. ███ was in the sally port the entire time and was advised that he could revoke consent at anytime by verbalizing it.

I read Mr. ███ the PennDot form DL-26B verbatim and completely, requesting that he submit to a chemical blood draw. He consented to the blood draw and signed the form in the appropriate section, indicating that I had read it to him. Ofc Nock and Ofc Kriebel did transport Mr. ███ to AHN McCandless for the chemical blood draw. All times and mileage were logged. At 04:00 hours, 4 tubes of blood were drawn from Mr. ███’s right arm by nurse ███████. The blood evidence was later packaged, sealed, and logged into evidence. It will be sent to the crime lab for analysis.

A criminal history was obtained for both Mr. ███ and Mr. Gilmore. Mr. ███ is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a previous felony drug conviction. He plead guilty to Title 35 780-113(a)(30) on 0311612016. Reference OTN G693654-3. Mr. Gilmore is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a previous delinquent adjudication. On 12/15/2011 he was adjudicated delinquent in regards to possession of a firearm by a minor. Reference OTN J245216-6.

Based on the above information, Your Affiant humbly requests that Jerome Gilmore answer to the charges listed within this complaint.