ALLENTOWN, Pa. — City police have charged a 27-year-old South Whitehall Township man with fatally shooting a 22-year-old mother inside her apartment early Tuesday.
Adam Makowka is awaiting extradition to Lehigh County after being arrested in Lansdowne, Delaware County, at 6:35 a.m., police said.
Makowka has been charged with criminal homicide, attempted homicide and two counts of aggravated assault.
Police responded to the 700 block of West Turner Street at about 4:23 a.m. and found Jerkera Battle dead in the hallway of her apartment with multiple gunshot wounds.
Witness Joshuah Hoffner, who was inside the apartment, identified Makowka, Battle's ex-boyfriend, as the shooter, according to court documents.
Hoffner told authorities Makowka entered the apartment through the roof access door. The roof was accessible via the fire escape, police said.
Police said Makowka repeatedly shot Battle with an AR-15 rifle, then leveled the weapon at Hoffner inside Battle's bedroom, according to court documents.
Hoffner managed to grab the weapon as Makowka fired the rifle until running out of ammunition, according to police. Battle's infant son was in the bedroom at the time, police said.
Makowka left behind the rifle and fled the scene through the apartment building's front door, according to court documents.
Surveillance footage recorded Makowka arriving outside the apartment about 3:45 a.m. in his Honda Civic wearing a sweatshirt and carrying a rifle case before he disappeared down an alley.
About 4 p.m., he's seen fleeing out the front door of Battle's apartment building without the case or sweatshirt, which were recovered in the building's roof, police said.
