Drug suspect charged with machine gun possession

A man has been charged by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh with possession of a machine gun in furtherance of drug activity, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Pittsburgh.

Erik Addison, 27, formerly of Homestead, had already been charged in Allegheny County Court in connection to his actions on May 8, when he allegedly fled a police stop and led then on a chase from Hazelwood to Pittsburgh.

The grand jury brought more charges with a superseding indictment last week.

The release said Addison had fentanyl and heroin that he intended to distribute, possessed a machine gun in furtherance of that drug trafficking crime, and also “possessed a Glock pistol equipped with a part commonly referred to as a ‘Glock Switch,’ designed to convert a semiautomatic Glock-style handgun into a machine gun capable of fully automatic fire.”

At the time of his latest arrest, Addison was serving a term of supervised release following his conviction for a prior federal firearm offense in 2021. The feds are now working to revoke that.

The Post-Gazette reported that Addison was shot in the leg during the police chase in May.

Addison was allegedly the target of investigations by city and county police as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to the criminal complaint filed against him. The three agencies were surveilling Addison when a Pittsburgh police officer spotted him driving a dark-colored Infinity vehicle. A records check showed he did not have a license, police said.

Multiple police cruisers tried to stop Addison about 8:15 p.m. near the intersection of Browns Hill and Imogene roads, according to the complaint. Addison allegedly briefly stopped but then reversed into the Pittsburgh police vehicles behind him.

During the brief stop and subsequent fleeing, officers reported seeing a gun in Addison’s hand, according to the criminal complaint. Police said they spotted a gun in his passenger’s hand, too.

Addison took off across the Homestead Grays Bridge, “traveling recklessly at a high rate of speed,” police said. An officer saw pieces of Addison’s car coming off as he drove.

He and his passenger ditched the car on the other side of the bridge on Eighth Avenue, according to the complaint. Officers followed him through a gas station parking lot onto Ann Street and then onto Hazel Way, a narrow alley that runs parallel to Eighth Avenue, the main drag through Homestead and West Homestead.

Addison and at least one officer exchanged gunfire during the brief foot pursuit, police said. When Addison emerged onto Amity Street, police said, he was struck by a West Homestead officer. He was ultimately cornered there. He’d been shot in the leg, and an officer applied a tourniquet.