Woman Arrested After Police Discover Heroin In Open Purse

Pittsburgh narcotics detectives found 286 bricks of heroin during a traffic stop in Beechview Tuesday afternoon. This arrest came after an anonymous caller alerted police to drug activity at a residence on the 1500 block of Rutherford Avenue.

Officers staked out the address until they saw a vehicle leave from the driveway. They followed the car until the driver ran through a stop sign at Cape May and Hampshire streets. At that point, the officers pulled over the white Chevrolet Lumina.

During the traffic stop, undercover officers observed an open purse in the front seat of the vehicle. Inside the purse were several bricks of heroin in plain view, police said. The suspect, Tonia Jones, was taken into custody and police said she consented to a search of her home, where detectives said they discovered an additional 278 bricks of heroin and $5,759 currency.

The total value of the drugs is estimated at $170,000. The 286 bricks of heroin translate to approximately 14,300 stamp bags.

Jones was taken to the Allegheny County Jail and will be charged with possession with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance, and two vehicle code violations.