Criminal Justice

Christopher Schweikert, 29, pleaded guilty to producing pornographic images of a student he engaged in sexual contact. He still faces related charges in Northampton County Court.

Gabriel Cartagena was "considered armed and dangerous," District Attorney Gavin Holihan said Thursday, two days after Allentown police said there was no ongoing danger to the public related to last weekend's shootings.

Packages stolen before they have a chance to be received are often deemed as being taken by “porch pirates,” who now may face stricter consequences under Pa. law.

The Lehigh County coroner identified a 44-year-old woman and a 1-year-old boy who died in a chaotic night of gunfire in Allentown late Friday.

In the wake of a trio of shootings in Allentown Friday night that left two dead and six more injured, some of the city's political, civic and religious leaders met Sunday to call for action.

The 1-year-old and a 44-year-old woman were among three people shot in a home in the 100 block of Chestnut Street in Allentown. Over the next several hours, five more people would be shot in two more separate shooting incidents.

Two shootings occurred around 9 p.m. Friday. Authorities found two people dead in a house in the 100 block of Chestnut Street in Allentown's First Ward, the incoming Lehigh County district attorney said. One of them was a 1-year-old boy, the coroner said.

Under the bill, gun owners could lose their license to carry if they try to take a loaded weapon onto a plane. This would be similar to losing a license for possessing a small amount of marijuana, one lawmaker said.

"Be aware, set your alarms," Lower Saucon Township Police Chief Thomas Barndt said at a township council meeting.

Lehigh County Courthouse is expected to reopen a week after fire sprinklers damaged the building's electrical system Tuesday night.

Multiple media outlets report Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty. A change of plea hearing is set for Wednesday. Kohberger’s trial had been set to begin in August

Jorge Gonzalez, 40, is accused of killing 85-year-old Elian Makdsi in October 2023 as he was in the intersection at North Jerome Street and Union Boulevard.

Christopher Fitzgerald was a former Lehigh County corrections officer and is the son of former Allentown Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald. He was the first Temple University officer killed in the line of duty.

Northampton County officials appointed a new sheriff Wednesday: Christopher Zieger, formerly the department’s second-in-command.

The former West Easton clerk is charged with three felonies for allegedly accepting cash payments for residents' bills but never depositing the money in a borough account. He never returned to work after being sent a text informing him of his suspension in 2023, court records show.

Police said Amir Sims-Watson, 17, opened fire on a group of pedestrians in Allentown before robbing a woman at gunpoint at Trexler Middle School. Two other teens are charged in the shooting.

Easton City Councilman Frank Pintabone will host a Clean Slate information session this July to help eligible individuals get on the path to clear their criminal record.

Federal immigration officials on Friday issued their first statement since arresting 17 people at the Five10 Flats on June 11. Mayor J. Williams Reynolds this week described the arrests as "an American tragedy."

District Attorney Gavin Holihan said Gary J. Moyer 73, of South Whitehall, left a note among his final words saying, “Please convey my apologies to the officer who gets stuck shooting me.”

LaTarsha Brown, who works in the city's Department of Community and Economic Development, did not appear Tuesday in Lehigh County Court.

Christian Lopez-Rodriguez, 21, of Allentown, was shot and killed Oct. 17, 2020, during a robbery on the Hamilton Street bridge.

About 500 people rallied at two spots Thursday night — outside the Five10 Flats building where ICE agents arrested 17 people the day before, and at Bethlehem City Hall.