Criminal Justice

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.

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s nominees for attorney general and state police commissioner received unanimous approval from the Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate.

Lehigh Valley Health Network was victimized in a cybersecurity attack last month. The network said it refused to pay a ransom. Now, patient information and photos have been posted on the dark web, according to LVHN.

The force, made up of municipal, county and federal investigators, is designed to fight the sexual exploitation of children in the county, along with human trafficking more broadly.

Marc Muffley was arrested at his home in Lansford, Carbon County, on Monday night. A hearing is set for Thursday afternoon in federal court in Allentown on charges that include possessing an explosive device at an airport.

On Thursday, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin declared that a city police officer was justified in fatally shooting an armed man during a foot chase last month.

The FBI said Marc Muffley, 40, of Lansford, Carbon County, left the airport Monday after checking a bag that was to be loaded on an Allegiant flight from Allentown to Sanford, Fla.

Law enforcement officials seized dark clothing, medical gloves, a flashlight and other items from a Pennsylvania home where they arrested a graduate student charged with stabbing four University of Idaho students to death. That is according to newly unsealed court documents.

Sarah A. Rice, 39, and Greg A. Johnson, 42, both of Bethlehem, died from wounds to the head, Coroner Daniel Buglio ruled after autopsies Monday.

Bethlehem police said the couple had three children. The man and the woman were both found suffering from gunshot wounds in the basement of a home in the 200 block of 10th Avenue.

Police were called Friday night to a residence in the 200 block of 10th Avenue in Bethlehem. There they found a 39-year-old woman dead and a 42-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds, according to the Lehigh County Coroner's Office.

A former tenant tied to a massive fire at their South Bethlehem apartment building will not face criminal charges, according to city police.

The 33-year-old was seen on surveillance footage throwing rocks at the building's doors, according to charging documents.

In 2025, LehighValleyNews.com readers gravitated toward stories that reflected mounting economic pressure, public safety concerns, environmental uncertainty and moments of sharp civic tension.

Pennsylvania’s distracted driving law will take full effect in 2026, marking one of the most consequential legal shifts for motorists in years and headlining a slate of new laws set to roll out across the Commonwealth.

Northampton County awarded 49 Public Safety Grant Awards, totaling $600,000, announced Friday by county Executive Lamont G. McClure.

Shaba Xavier Hill, 26, of Allentown, fatally struck the 77-year-old victim at Springhouse Road and Springwood Drive on Oct. 30, 2022. His sentencing hearing was held Tuesday before Lehigh County Court Judge Thomas Caffrey.

Costas Alestas, a 17-year veteran of the Bethlehem Police Department, was fired after the allegations came to light. He worked as a school resource officer at East Hills Middl School in the Bethlehem Area School District.

David J. Gibbs, 34, was killed and two others were hurt in a shooting early Friday morning inside Big Woody's Sports Bar and Restaurant on Allentown’s East Side, authorities said.

Anderson Jorge Cruz, 27, no known address, was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter-unreasonable belief, a first-degree felony, for killing Juan Alfredo Sanchez, 24.