Four arrested in bust

Pittsburgh police arrested four people and confiscated some $50,000 in cash and suspected narcotics Thursday in related drug busts in Elliott and the North Side.

It was the second time in two days that undercover Community Oriented Police Officers stationed in the West End made a large drug bust in an investigation sparked by citizen complaints.

Yesterday's first arrest occurred at 1:30 p.m. when officers saw two men making a suspected drug transaction in a car on Uvilla Street in Elliott.

Shortly before 6 p.m., the other men were arrested as police were conducting a search of the home of one of those arrested in Marshall-Shadeland, police spokeswoman Michele Papakie said.

Police also seized three vehicles, two semi-automatic handguns, pagers, cellular telephones and suspected drug paraphernalia, Papakie said.

Arrested on a variety of charges were: Terrance Bonner, 19, and his brother, Jeffrey, 22, both of Marshall-Shadeland; Joseph Carso Jr., 19, of Elliott; and Durrell Omar Fortson, 22, of Chartiers City.

Plainclothes officers, who have been investigating the case for about 10 days, watched as Carso and Terrance Bonner sat in a car in Uvilla and made a suspected drug transaction.

After police approached the car, Carso was apprehended without incident.

However, Papakie said, Terrance Bonner jumped out of the car and ran, leading police on a chase that lasted nearly a dozen blocks before he was stopped and arrested without a struggle.

Inside the car, police found an estimated $20,000 worth of heroin, cocaine and marijuana, as well as $1,245 in cash, a handgun, scales and baggies.

The cars of both men were seized.

Police then obtained a search warrant for Bonner's home on Langfitt Avenue.

Accompanied by officers from the North Side, they raided the home and arrested Fortson and Jeffrey Bonner without incident.

Inside the Bonner home was $23,000 worth of suspected heroin, cocaine and marijuana, $7,236 in cash, a handgun and another car.

In all, Papakie said the officers seized nearly 150 bags of heroin, more than 8 ounces of cocaine and some marijuana.

On Wednesday, police arrested five people and confiscated some $20,000 in heroin, cocaine and marijuana along with $8,400 in cash in Beechview.

Officers Joe Cirigliano, Valerie Milie, Anthony Hildebrand, Robyn Bottesch, Barry Budd and Mark Leonard, as well as Sgt. Patricia Kelly and Sgt. Douglas Epler, were involved in yesterday's arrests in Elliott. Most of the same officers also made the arrests on Wednesday.

They were joined by officers Benny Sledge, Stephen Gawlas Jr., Daniel Dulski and Willie Jeffries in the search of Bonner's home on the North Side.

Michael Hasch can be reached at mhasch@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7820.