ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A former Allentown police officer facing a slew of charges will no longer be prosecuted for an alleged rape more than a dozen years ago.
Jason Krasley, 48, of Upper Milford Township, had one of seven criminal cases against him withdrawn by the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office on Monday.
Those charges, including felony counts of rape and sexual assault, stemmed from an incident reported to have occurred Sept. 1, 2012, according to court records.
Authorities could not get the alleged victim to Lehigh County to testify, according to Pam Lehman, spokeswoman for the DA's office.
Prosecutors dropped the charges without prejudice, meaning they could refile them against Krasley.
Trials set
But Krasley and suspended Allentown police Sgt. Evan Weaver, 46, of Weisenberg Township, are scheduled to stand trial on numerous charges stemming from alleged sexual assaults in 2011 and 2015, when they served on the city’s Vice and Intelligence Unit.
Krasley also is set to stand trial on accusations he stole more than $5,000 on the job in 2019 after a series of his former colleagues testified against him Monday during a three-hour preliminary hearing in Lehigh County Court.
Detective Ryan Murray, who now works with the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office, told prosecutors that he and Krasley counted $16,000 in cash during a May 2019 search at a barbershop on Hamilton Street.
Another officer said he found about $8,100 during the search.
“The Commonwealth cannot prove theft in this case. It appears like a theft, but that’s about it. The one thing I know is they didn’t prove it was [Krasley].”Defense attorney James Burke
But Murray and several other officers testified Monday that thousands of dollars were missing by the time supervisors counted the money again at the Vice Unit’s headquarters that day.
As vice officers crowded around Detective James Graves’ office to figure out where the money was, Krasley “stood up to leave” and said he didn’t remember how much money he counted earlier that day, Murray testified.
Krasley asked Murray to tell the Lehigh County prosecutor in charge of the case that Krasley “f---ed up the count” of how much money was found at the barbershop.
Now-Sgt. Christopher Diehl said he ordered now-Patrolman Damien Lobach to “rewrite” the inventory receipt so the amount matched what the vice team had at the office.
Diehl said he initially believed there was a “miscount” of seized money but later reported the incident because he thought it may have been stolen.
'Should have been thrown out'
James Burke, Krasley’s defense attorney, argued prosecutors did little to prove any money was stolen during the search.
He seized upon the possibility offered by Diehl that officers may have gotten the first count wrong.
“It should have been thrown out here."James Burke, Jason Krasley's attorney
“The Commonwealth cannot prove theft in this case,” Burke said. ”It appears like a theft, but that’s about it.
“The one thing I know is they didn’t prove it was this guy,” Burke said, gesturing to Krasley sitting next to him.
Senior District Judge Jacqueline Taschner ordered all three charges against Krasley — theft, receiving stolen property and tampering with evidence — to move forward to trial.
But Taschner told prosecutors they presented a “dearth of direct evidence” in the preliminary hearing.
Burke said he was “shocked” by the state’s lack of direct evidence against his client.
“This is insane that this is the evidence we’re in court on,” he said during the hearing.
After Taschner’s ruling, he said, “It should have been thrown out here."
