Teenager jailed after bail revoked

Bem in custody on charges including aggravated assault, strangulation

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A 19-year-old Hollidaysburg man who has been arrested four times since January and repeatedly violated bail conditions is now in the Blair County Prison.

Judge Jackie Bernard on Friday revoked Kolten Andrew Bem's bail on pending charges that include aggravated assault, burglary, strangulation and terroristic threats.

Because of the judge's ruling, the handcuffed Bem was led out of the courtroom, where prosecutors described him as a safety risk to the community.

"I applaud the judge's decision to revoke his bail," First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith said. "She held him accountable for breaking the rules and that's something the community needs to see."

About a dozen people were in court for Bem's bail revocation hearing including family and friends of Bem's alleged victims.

Criminal charges accuse him of strangling a teenage girlfriend in November 2022 in Frankstown Township and of threatening a girlfriend's mother in January in Antis Township by firing a shotgun toward the ground.

Bem, who remained free on bail after charges were filed, was arrested again on Aug. 11 by state police at Hollidaysburg and charged with driving under the influence. Troopers found him in a crashed vehicle in Frankstown Township not far from his Stonehedge Road residence after a family domestic dispute where he was accused of striking a sibling. His blood alcohol level was recorded at 0.149 percent, state trooper Justin Yost testified Friday.

Two and half weeks later, Altoona police filed charges against Bem, accusing him of walking into a residence on the 1100 block of South 12th Street and beating up a male teenager.

Bem was accused of stomping several times on the teenager's head and hitting the teenager with a glass vase that left a gash requiring 13 stitches.

John Hicks, a legal intern in the district attorney's office who assisted Smith

in presenting the bail revocation request, asked Bernard to recognize the escalation of the defendant's behavior.

"These are not school yard fights," Hicks said. "These are serious brawls."

Defense attorney Mark Zearfaus asked Bernard not to revoke his client's bail and pointed out that Bem spent a week in jail before bail was met.

"He may be 19, but he's still a kid," Zearfaus said. "I know he's got something good in him that needs to develop."

Bem, enrolled as a 12th grader at Hollidaysburg Area Senior High School, described his grades as good. He testified in court that he was in the process of enrolling in a new counseling program and applying for a part-time job.

Hicks countered that Bem could pursue his GED while incarcerated.

"I find it hard to believe that he should be in a high school where there are others as young as 14," Hicks said.

"I think that's for the school to decide," Zearfaus replied.

Smith also called upon two county parole and probation officers who testified about Bem's violations of court-ordered bail conditions.

The violations, based on his admissions and drug testing results, indicated that Bem consumed alcohol and cocaine in early July and that he took Suboxone in late July. When asked Tuesday to submit to a drug test upon checking in at the parole and probation office, Bem refused and admitted to using marijuana.

Smith said Bem's case is a good example of what happens to someone who fails to comply with bail conditions and supervision rules.

"When a judge imposes bail conditions, those are not empty words," Smith said. "Those are conditions to be followed, and we at the DA's office take it seriously when they're violated."

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.