Criminal Justice

Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering a host of changes to the state’s cannabis laws that would expand who is eligible for a medical marijuana card.

A 20-year-old Coplay man fatally shot by Allentown police on Friday had multiple gunshot wounds, an autopsy report from the Lehigh County Coroner's Office said.

Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said police recovered a semiautomatic handgun from the man, as well as shell casings believed to have been fired from the weapon. No officers were hurt, but a projectile nicked an officer's bulletproof vest, Martin said.

Police are stepping up DUI enforcement for Super Bowl weekend. Each year, there’s a spike in the number of car crashes immediately following the Super Bowl than what is typical for a Sunday night.

Part of Route 412 in South Bethlehem had been closed early Monday after police found a gunshot victim.

Recent incidents of violence prompted several people to speak out on safety concerns at the Allentown City Council meeting on Wednesday night. They emphasized the need for action and community involvement.

Allentown City Council formally thanked and recognized the emergency workers involved in the trench collapse rescue on January 11

Allentown police say Dieruff High School was locked down after they received information that a student brought the gun inside the school Wednesday.

DeSales University Homeland Security majors received first-hand knowledge of the challenges and requirements of the job at the third annual DeSales University Center for Homeland Security Conference on Wednesday.

Two members of the popular Schaffrillas Productions team died in a motor vehicle collision on Sunday.

Allentown police allege Adam Makowka, 27, used a fire escape to enter Jerkera Battle's apartment and shot her to death with an AR-15. Makowka also is charged with trying to kill another man in the apartment.

Tamir Johnson, 35, got out of his car and swung a bat, hitting the other driver’s door. That driver fired one shot that struck Johnson, authorities said.

Jorge Suarez-Santiago, 33, was sentenced to 5-to-15 years in prison in the drug-induced death of his 22-month-old son.

A man whose body was found in a field near Salisbury Elementary School on Friday morning has been identified.

ICE has confirmed the arrest of a suspected murderer from Honduras, Yobani Bonilla-Bonilla, aka, Gilberto Perez-Alvarado, in Easton in June 2025.

Police are investigating after a 37-year-old man was found dead on the 1400 block of Gaskill Avenue in Salisbury Township.

Sammy Sasso, a former Nazareth Area High School state wrestling champion, is charged with possessing unlicensed guns and a controlled substance after police said they stopped the car he was driving because of an expired registration.

Witness said Jose Vladimir Jerez, 24, of Allentown, was driving erratically while trying to pass another car when he crashed his car into a utility pole in October. A 20-year-old passenger, Ezequiel Hernandez-Cartagena, died less than 90 minutes later.

A former Easton Area High School resource officer who pleaded guilty to sending a sexually explicit image of himself to a 16-year-old female student in 2024 was sentenced to 9-to-24 months in Northampton County Prison, it was announced on Wednesday.

Said Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott, “It’s not used for enforcement. It’s just a means, similar to the news media, of being able to bring up that camera and check the traffic conditions, or if there's an accident, it could be utilized for investigative purposes.”

Angel Martinez-Velez, 25, of Allentown, was shot and killed June 1, 2024, on the basketball court at Allentown's Fountain Park.

Allentown police were called just before 2 a.m. Sunday to a home in the 100 block of Pine Street, where officers found a girl suffering from a gunshot wound to the face, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office.