GREENSBURG, Pa. — The trial of a man accused of leading police on a multi-county chase in November 2023 before allegedly shooting at an officer continued in Westmoreland County, with jurors getting the chance to see body camera footage from the incident.
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Officer Ethan Fagnelli was working for Pitcairn at the time of the incident. He was the first officer who attempted to pull Bruce Alvarado over.
Fagnelli was alerted to a stolen jeep by a Monroeville officer who said it was spotted by a license plate reader. Fagnelli tried to pull the Jeep over.
A woman in the Jeep with Alvarado told the jury Tuesday that Alvarado said, “I’m not going to jail today!” and then sped off.
Officers chased him from Pitcairn, through Turtle Creek, and several other towns, reaching 90 miles per hour until spike strips at a roundabout ended the chase on Route 356 in Allegheny Township, Westmoreland County.
Officers said Alvarado went through wrong way on the roundabout, hit a pickup truck, and then collided with a Monroeville officer’s cruiser.
That’s when officers can be seen in body camera footage busting out the windows of the Jeep. Once they could see in, Alvarado was seen lying on top of the woman in the passenger seat. She told the jury he was pulling her hair, his back was in her lap, and she was terrified.
Police said Alvarado then fired the gun out of the car at the Monroeville police cruiser, hitting the officer in the cruiser in the arm.
That officer testified Monday and said he still has shrapnel in his arm. He returned to duty six months after being shot. The trial continues Wednesday morning.
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