Man accused of leading police on high-speed chase doesn’t show up for court; arrest warrant issued

PITTSBURGH — Hermas Craddock has been out of jail on a non-monetary bond for almost two weeks — following a high-speed chase where police say he nearly rammed two police cars and was driving 80 miles per hour in a 25 mph speed limit zone.

>>> Man accused of leading state police on high-speed chase through Allegheny County

That all changed Monday — when a judge ordered a warrant for his arrest after he didn’t show up for his court date.

“You have to show up for court. This isn’t an optional democracy type of a thing. The court is a dictator, and you better show up,” legal analyst Blaine Jones told Channel 11.

Jones said, in his experience, it’s unusual for a judge to give non-monetary bond to a defendant who is accused of trying to escape police custody.

In Craddock’s case, he was already out on $25,000 for an unrelated gun charge.

“I am surprised that that type of bond was given, just because of the nature of the charges. Additionally, if a defendant has active cases, plus this happens, then generally speaking, the bond is not going to be non-monetary. There’s going to be some type of money you have to put up,” Jones said.

Last week, Channel 11 reported that District Judge Xander Orenstein released Craddock on bond, despite his criminal history and the details of the police chase.

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The District Attorney’s office challenged that with a bond modification hearing that was scheduled for this Monday morning, but Craddock was a no-show.

“I don’t think it takes a law degree to determine that the client not showing up, absent of a serious reason, is a difficult case to persuade a judge to deny the Commonwealth’s motion for bond revocation,” Blaine said.

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