Stowe teen charged with shooting at undercover police officers

A teenager remained in jail Wednesday after being charged with shooting at two police officers doing an undercover drug investigation in Stowe a day earlier.

Delvonte Woodson, 17, of Stowe was charged as an adult Tuesday with two counts each of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and assault of a police officer.

Neither officer was injured.

Woodson, who is being prosecuted as an adult, was arraigned early Wednesday and taken to the Allegheny County Jail, where he remains without bond.

Stowe Detective Nicholas DiMichele and McKees Rocks Officer Eric D. Cersosimo were working a narcotics investigation in an unmarked car around 2 p.m. Tuesday when they spotted Woodson standing in a group of four people on Penn Alley near a pizzeria, according to a criminal complaint.

Cersosimo was working as part of the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Narcotics Enforcement Team, the complaint said.

Police said that both officers knew Woodson through previous arrests and court appearances. DiMichele had handled a disturbance call involving Woodson less than two weeks earlier, the complaint said.

Cersosimo saw Woodson pick up his shirt and pull a gun out of his waistband, according to the complaint.

He radioed for a marked police car to come to the scene.

The two undercover officers, with DiMichele driving, circled the block and twice lost sight of Woodson. Although they were in an unmarked vehicle, they wore vests with “POLICE” written on them, according to the complaint.

As the officers drove past an open field around 729 Woodward Ave., Woodson emerged and opened fire on the vehicle, the complaint said.

Both officers jumped out of the vehicle, and Cersosimo returned fire, police said.

Woodson fled and Cersosimo followed him, losing him near a storage facility on Broadway, according to the complaint.

Surveillance video on Woodward Street captured Woodson with a gun, the complaint said.

Woodson is too young to legally carry a firearm or hold a permit to do so.

Allegheny County Police launched an investigation, which is protocol when a police officer fires a gun.

Woodson is also charged with one count each of flight to avoid apprehension, evading arrest, obstructing administration of the law, carrying a firearm without a license and possession of a firearm by a minor.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 15.

Though the violence did not take place on school grounds, the Sto-Rox School District went on lockdown during the shooting, Superintendent Megan Marie Van Fossan said in a letter sent Wednesday to parents.

“We communicated with police throughout the event, and will continue to work with local and regional law enforcement partners,” Van Fossan said. “We will also have an increased security and police presence at the Jr./Sr. High School for the immediate future.”

District spokesman Dan Rinkus declined to confirm Wednesday whether Woodson is a Sto-Rox student.