Pittsburgh-area man arrested after allegedly failing to appear for his own trial

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A Turtle Creek man was arrested after he allegedly failed to show up for the end of his own trial. 

Twenty-eight-year-old Alphonso Francis was on trial after a traffic stop on Clairton Boulevard ended with a Whitehall police officer being dragged more than 200 feet.

Last Wednesday, a judge told the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office that Francis didn't show up for the third day of his trial and had cut off his electronic monitoring bracelet. 

While he was absent, the trial continued, and Francis was convicted of aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and two firearms violations. 

About a week after Francis failed to appear, the sheriff's office said detectives learned Francis was at a house along Fairview Avenue in Glassport. Detectives arrived at the home Tuesday and found Francis inside. He tried to escape out of the back of the house before he realized he was surrounded, the sheriff's office said. 

Deputies also arrested Francis in March after more than a year on the run in connection with the traffic stop. 

Police said Francis was the passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over in May 2022. The driver was taken into custody after the DUI stop without incident. However, police said Francis wouldn't comply and jumped into the driver's seat as officers attempted to remove him. He put the car into drive and grabbed one of the officers. The officer was dragged about 240 feet before he was thrown, police said. He was taken to a hospital and then released.  

Francis was taken to the Allegheny County Jail. A sentencing date hasn't been set.