Indiana County Judge Thomas Bianco has issued several recent rulings in two homicide cases.
The judge granted a defense motion to suppress the blood evidence and all evidence related to the blood draw in the Joseph Popovich homicide by vehicle trial. Popovich is charged with homicide by vehicle, homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, accidents involving death or injury, and related offenses in the death of 16-year-old Kai Hrabovksy of Homer City in May of last year. Police say Hrabovsky was walking along a Pine Township road in the early morning when he was struck by Popovich’s Jeep, and that Popovich continued on to his home and was located later. He’s scheduled for Criminal Call on September 1st.
Judge Bianco also granted defense motions filed by the attorneys for Justin Stevenson and Nathan Price, two young men accused in the beating deaths of a couple at their Cherryhill Township apartment outside of Clymer last October. Both men will be classified as paupers for the penalty phase of their trials. Robert Bell was appointed the penalty phase attorney for Stevenson and Thomas Hooper was named for same position for Price. Both defendants are scheduled for Criminal Call on October 6th.
Bianco has not released a decision yet for the third defendant in the case, 18-year-old Isaiah Scott. A hearing was held last Wednesday on a petition to transfer Scott’s case to juvenile court, which would carry a much more lenient sentencing protocol.
