Pittsburgh man sentenced on gun charge
Taj Renee McBride, 28, of Pittsburgh, was sentenced Monday to five to 10 years in state prison by Washington County Judge Michael Lucas on a felony charge of persons not to possess a firearm, a felony. McBride was scheduled to go to trial but elected to enter a guilty plea.
In June 2015, state troopers Jeffrey Tihey and Stephen Shurgott stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation near East Wylie and Allison avenues in Washington. McBride, the front-seat passenger, gave the troopers a false name. When suspected drug paraphernalia was located by Tihey, he ordered everyone out of the car.
McBride ran from the troopers, eventually being tackled by Shurgott in a parking lot on Jefferson Avenue. As he was tackled, a 9mm pistol fell from McBride’s waistband. Also located on McBride were $2,800, cellphones, a small amount of marijuana, and 41 stamp bags of heroin.
McBride previously was convicted of felony robbery and theft in Allegheny County, which made him ineligible to possess a firearm.