Criminal Justice

Reporting an increase in violent incidents in the state's prisons in 2022, the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association has suggested that staffing needs to increase, and policies need to be reviewed to help make the prisons safer.

At a press conference Thursday, DA candidate Stephen Baratta criticized incumbent district attorney Terry Houck over three cases from his tenure. Houck hit back in response.

Court officials from Northampton County first asked for help getting more staff over a year ago. Since November, the center netted no new full-time hires.

Two 15-year-old girls were removed from Northampton Area High School and will be charged after several threats of violence were made against the school.

A motorcade of 40 dirt bikes and ATVs ignored traffic laws and endangered others last year. They also delayed an injured Allentown detective from getting medical treatment. Only one driver, a Pen Argyl man, has been identified and charged.

Allentown police are investigating a homicide after a 38-year-old Allentown man died days after he was assaulted, according to the Lehigh County coroner.

It happened a little before 7 p.m. Wednesday at Easton Avenue and Beech Street in Bethlehem.

Clement Swaby was sentenced to up to 150 years in prison in the 2020 rape of a Lehigh University student, plus subsequent break-ins and attempted sexual assaults in Easton.

Lehigh County Judge Thomas Capehart denied the appeal of Patrick Palmer, who argued election staff should accept his paperwork because he paid a filing fee on time.

Patrick Palmer, an Allentown School Board director, argued in Lehigh County Court he should not be denied a spot on the primary ballot. County officials ruled he missed the March 7 filing deadline by a matter of seconds.

Investigators used numerous city-operated surveillance cameras and license-plate readers, as well as input from witnesses and social media, to identify the suspects, said Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan.

Scott Curtis led the FBI's investigation into allegations of corruption against former Mayor Ed Pawlowski, who's serving a 15-year federal prison sentence.

The 75-year-old Pen Argyl man was filmed tangling with riot police outside the U.S. Capitol Building as Congress tallied votes for the 2020 presidential election, according to federal prosecutors.

Steven M. Rosa, 30, was charged with homicide in the July 28, 2022, killing of Tywon Deleva Abner, 33, of Allentown just after 11 p.m. in the 500 block of West Allen Street.

Scott Curtis was the FBI's lead investigator as it scrutinized allegations of corruption surrounding former Mayor Ed Pawlowski before he was hit with corruption-related charges in 2018.

Authorities on Monday identified the 25-year-old man shot to death early Saturday night at Fountain Park off Martin Luther King Drive in Allentown.

Parkland School District administrator Frank Anonia is the subject of an internal investigation. He was recently deposed in a lawsuit that alleges the district knew another teacher, Christian Willman, was sexually assaulting students but did nothing to stop it.

The victim was shot and died at Fountain Park in the 900 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, authorities said. Police say anyone with information or video regarding the incident should call investigators at 610-437-7721.

Rami Abouloh is set to be sentenced Aug. 13; first-degree-murder convictions in Pennsylvania carry a mandatory life sentence.

Emergency crews worked for more than an hour Tuesday morning near Fourth and Hamilton streets to recover the body of a 60-year-old Allentown man.

A joint enforcement between Pennsylvania State Police and the Allentown Police Department resulted in dozens of traffic citations in just two hours on American Parkway. One driver was going 69 mph in the 40 mph zone, state police said.

U.S. District Judge John Gallagher ruled Marc Muffley, of Lansford, Pa., recklessly endangered passengers at Lehigh Valley International Airport in 2023 when he packed a can of butane, a fireworks mortar, a torch lighter and lithium ion batteries in his baggage.