Two men were arrested, and a warrant was issued for a third Wednesday morning after Uniontown police executing a search warrant found drugs, guns and cash in a residence.
“We had an assault in Pershing Court on Monday night,” city police Lt. Tom Kolencik said. “Kato Bass was involved. We got an arrest warrant for him on Tuesday. He was seen (Wednesday morning) going into his (apartment).”
When officers arrived, they smelled marijuana, leading them to pursue a search warrant for the apartment, Kolencik said.
Officers found $4,930, seven loaded guns, 1 gram of ecstasy and almost 16 grams of marijuana, Kolencik said.
Bass, 19, and Carl Joseph DeShields, 25, both of 26 Pershing Court, were arraigned before Uniontown District Judge Michael Metros on numerous charges of manufacturing/delivering controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, receiving stolen property and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Bass and DeShields were placed in the Fayette County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail each. They are scheduled for preliminary hearings before Metros on Tuesday. Bass also was arraigned on charges of robbery, simple assault and harassment stemming from the incident on Monday. His bail on those charges is $30,000.
Metros issued a warrant for the arrest of Kyle Bass, Kato Bass' brother, police said.
Officers on patrol in the Pershing Court area saw Kato Bass enter his residence just before 1 a.m. Wednesday, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by city Patrolman Santino Mammarelli.
They found Kato Bass, Kyle Bass and DeShields inside.
While taking Kato Bass into custody, Mammarelli said he “detected a strong odor of burnt and raw marijuana.”
After officers saw drug paraphernalia and packaging materials in plain view, they and state troopers secured the apartment while a search warrant was obtained from District Judge Ronald Haggerty Jr.
Police then found the cash, drugs and guns, according to the affidavit. One of the guns had been stolen from a vehicle last year, police said.
DeShields and Kyle Bass have criminal records in Fayette County, online records show.
“This is very big. We've received complaints on the residence in the past,” Kolencik said. “This was good police work; our officers were not giving up. They worked with the attorney general's office on this case.
“The timing was right. It's good for the city. Getting guns off the street is good any time, but especially at this time of year,” he said.
Mary Pickels is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-836-5401 or mpickels@tribweb.com.
