The woman charged with swatting a St. Joseph County council member had her first court appearance Tuesday. Republican Party leaders and the victim want the defendant dealt with seriously.
Magistrate Elizabeth Hardtke arraigned 46-year-old defendant Gloria Niedbalski by video link from the jail. Prosecutors have charged her with felony identity deception and misdemeanor false reporting. They say Niedbalski, an active member of the Republican Party, pretended to be an elderly neighbor of Republican County Council member Amy Drake, when she called a Department of Child Services hotline in December requesting a welfare check of Drake’s children because she had left them alone.
But police easily found that Drake had not left the children alone, and they traced the DCS hotline call to Niedbalski’s phone.
Hardtke granted a request from prosecutors to set her a higher-than-standard bond because of the seriousness of the offense. Hardtke agreed and set Niedbalski’s bond at $2,000 cash. She ordered her to report to the probation department after her release, and to have no contact with Drake before her trial.
Prosecutors say Niedbalski made the fake call during a council meeting where Drake and other council Republicans voted against her re-appointment to the county’s Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals.
Drake attended the hearing with some other elected Republicans. In a statement, Drake said, “I hope the perpetrator of this crime receives her just punishment, proving the seriousness of these crimes and deterring others from employing these dangerous methods to intimidate lawmakers.
Jail records show Niedbalski was released from jail later Tuesday after posting bond.
