State police are searching for a convict from Pittsburgh who failed to return last night to a minimum security section of the State Correctional Institution at Pittsburgh.

Police said the convict, Bernard J. Davis, is deaf. He was committed July 18 at the Riverside Community Corrections Center in the Woods Run section of Pittsburgh after having served the minimum of a 2 1/2- to 5-year sentence on a burglary conviction.

He has been convicted a number of times in the past on burglary and trespassing charges.

Past charges included counts of providing false identification to police. Mr. Davis has used the names Derrick Chambers, Derrick James, Taru James and John Doe, according to court records.

Mr. Davis is black, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, and weighs 180 pounds. He has the name Poochie tattooed on his left forearm.

Anyone with information regarding Mr. Davis' whereabouts can call state police in Pittsburgh at 412-787-2000.