Indiana County’s Court of Common Pleas will hold several criminal call hearings today, including one for a man charged with leading police on a chase.
Court documents show that 31-year-old Nicholas Empfield of Home is due before Indiana County President Judge Thomas Bianco this morning. He is charged with aggravated assault by vehicle, fleeing or eluding police, resisting arrest, simple assault, altering his vehicle registration and four summary driving counts for an incident on April 9th. Police said Empfield was riding his motorcycle with 40-year-old Amanda Baker. As the two were trying to evade police chasing them on Blue Spruce Road north of 7th Street, Empfield missed a right turn and lost control of his bike. Both he and baker suffered minor injuries.
Also due in court today is 21-year-old Zackary Hill of Gibsonia, who is facing six counts of child pornography, a single count of selling obscene or sexual materials and other crimes for an investigation that goes back to February 2nd of 2024. And 36-year-old Brendan Marody of Blairsville is expected to be in court today. He is charged with raping a child, statutory sexual assault and related crimes to a case that goes back to May 1st, 2023.
Criminal Call is designed to update the court and the parties involved on the progress of a case. Proceedings are usually postponed to a later date, but on occasion, guilty pleas have been entered at the Criminal Call phase.