Pittsburgh man arrested in connection with body found in Shaler

Allegheny County police arrested a 25-year-old man on homicide charges Thursday in connection with a body found in Shaler the day after Christmas.

Eugene Jones of Pittsburgh is charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, attempted criminal homicide, carrying a firearm without a license and recklessly endangering another person for an apparent drug deal gone bad.

Through witness interviews and surveillance footage, police said they determined Jones shot 45-year-old Andre Wallace of Millvale late in the evening on Christmas Day near the 2400 block of Chauncey Drive in the city’s Hill District.

According to the criminal complaint, Wallace and another man attempted to buy crack cocaine from Jones while seated in a van. Wallace gave money to a young man in exchange for the crack cocaine and instructed the driver to leave, according to the complaint. The driver heard the young man say something, according to the complaint, about the amount of money Wallace had given him and then heard a shot.

The driver fled initially to Wallace’s apartment and then to his own Castle Shannon home, but Wallace would not “wake up,” according to the complaint. At some point in the early hours of Dec. 26, the complaint said, the driver dumped Wallace’s remains in a wooded area near Hahn Road in Shaler.

Later that day, a passerby found Wallace’s body in multiple layers of clothing , more than 7 miles away from the alleged shooting.

Shaler and Allegheny County police initially investigated, but the investigation was handed over to county homicide detectives. Detectives watched security footage and located Wallace’s phone, which had been involved in 146 phone calls with Jones between Nov. 23 and Dec. 26., according to the complaint.

On Thursday, Jones was taken into custody in Pittsburgh by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, according to police.

Jones has several previous criminal charges, most of which are drug-related. He is awaiting a preliminary hearing.