Criminal call hearings are set for today in Indiana County Court, including hearings for some high-profile cases.
One of the cases that will have a hearing will be the case of Todd Walters, who is accused of killing his mother, 72-year-old Ruth Shirey, by beating her at her home on Diamond Avenue in February of 2015 and was arrested the same day in Altoona. During a preliminary hearing, Walters’ father said that his son had stopped taking his medication for his schizophrenia several months before Shirey’s death. He underwent several mental health evaluations, and remains involuntarily committed at Torrence State Hospital. He was declared competent to stand trial on October 11th. A jury trial is set for February 18th.
The other major criminal call case is for James Eugene Brown, for the charges related to the crash on July 5th, 2018 when his car plowed through a gas pump and the building at Pikel’s Top Tier Fuels in Home, killing a woman who was working inside the building. He is charged with homicide by vehicle while under the influence and several related charges.
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.
