Inmate faces charges after threatening officer, cellmate

PITTSBURGH – A jail inmate who threatened a corrections officer and held his cellmate at knifepoint has been charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threats and other offenses.

The Allegheny County Police Department says Friday that 28-year-old Joshua Evans approached an on-duty corrections officer preparing inmates for transport to court hearings and brandished a 9-inch handmade knife, threatening to assault him. The corrections officer was able to fend off Evans and summon help. It happened shortly before 5 a.m. May 24.

Police say Evans then went to his cell, where he bound his cellmate with torn bed linens and held him at knifepoint. A corrections officer negotiated with Evans, who surrendered his knife. There were no injuries.

Evans remains in jail pending arraignment. It wasn’t known if he’s represented by a lawyer.