Tiffany Haten of Monroeville had been trying for weeks in October and November 2023 to get her Jeep Patriot back from her ex-boyfriend.
She was unsuccessful through text messages and phone calls to Bruce Alvarado, 40, to get him to return the vehicle or a new handgun she bought.
“I saw my firearm the day that I purchased it. I haven’t seen it since,” she testified Thursday during the fourth day of Alvarado’s trial.
Prosecutors believe Alvarado led police on a chase Nov. 10, 2023, in Haten’s SUV and used her handgun to fire shots at Monroeville Patrolman Craig Huhn, wounding him.
The pursuit started when police tried to stop the stolen Jeep in Turtle Creek. It ended on Route 356 at a roundabout near Hyde Park Road in Allegheny Township. Alvarado is charged with attempted homicide, assault of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault and related offenses.
Haten said she and Alvarado dated during the summer of 2023 and their relationship ended between September and October. She permitted him to use the vehicle while they were together, but that arrangement ended and Haten requested the SUV be returned in October 2023, she testified.
Early that month, Haten said, Alvarado drove her to a Plum store to buy a handgun and ammunition for protection. After he gave her a ride home, Haten testified that she got out of the vehicle and when she went to retrieve the handgun from the back seat, Alvarado took off.
After unsuccessful attempts to get Alvarado to return either the SUV or the gun, she reported the situation to Monroeville police on Nov. 6, 2023. Officer Mark Savage testified that he entered the items into a police computer system as stolen.
Throughout the trial, jurors have watched multiple videos from body cameras of police officers who were involved in the chase and aftermath, including that of Huhn. He was shot in the leg and wrist.
Huhn returned to work after six months off the job. He still has shrapnel lodged inside his arm and a finger.
