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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A Blair County judge declined a motion Friday afternoon to further modify the bail of a Harrisburg man accused of trafficking a large amount of narcotics to the area.
Kyle Jerome Rudolph, 49, appeared alongside defense attorney William Wigman for a bail hearing in front of President Judge Wade A. Kagarise. Rudolph is facing three felony counts of possession with intent to deliver, a single felony count of conspiracy to commit possession with intent to deliver, single misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a small amount of marijuana, as well as a summary traffic offense.
Rudolph has been in custody at the Blair County Prison since his arrest on June 17, with his bail set at $400,000. That amount was then decreased to $100,000 at the magistrate level on July 1.
In arguing for Rudolph's bail to be decreased further, Wigman said the three prior incidents that might concern the court occurred "almost 20 years ago" when Rudolph admitted to being "young and stupid."
"He's making better decisions regarding court dates," Wigman said.
He added that Rudolph was out on bail for a 2025 case when the June drug case was filed, and turned himself in after learning about an outstanding bench warrant.
Assistant District Attorney Trevor Spaide asked Kagarise to increase Rudolph's bail back to its original amount due to the nature of his case. He said Rudolph had additional cases in Pennsylvania, as well as Florida and New Jersey.
In arguing against Rudolph's claim of just being "young and stupid," Spaide pointed out that Rudolph pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in 2011 and 2019 and possession with intent to deliver in 2018.
"I don't believe at this point there's any reason his bail should be reduced," Spaide said. "He's a threat to the community."
Spaide also pointed out that Rudolph's co-defendant Brittney Nichole Pogue, 29, was facing identical charges and had her bail set at $250,000.
Kagarise ultimately denied both requests to modify Rudolph's bail, keeping it set at $100,000. He then gave Wigman 45 days to file any additional pre-trial motions in Rudolph's case.
Rudolph's next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 17. Pogue, also of Harrisburg, is scheduled for plea court Aug. 21 in front of Kagarise.
The charges were filed against the pair after a traffic stop near the 700 Chestnut Ave. Sheetz led to officers discovering about 3.5 grams of methamphetamine; 80 wax packets containing suspected fentanyl; about 3.5 grams of suspected crack cocaine; about 9 grams of marijuana; a red grinder; a green zip-top baggie; three cellphones and about $155 in cash in Pogue's bags. Officers reported the estimated street value of the meth and fentanyl at $2,000 and $1,600, respectively.
Mirror staff writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.