Criminal Justice

Marquis Michael Watkins has been sentenced to life without parole in the shooting death of a Bethlehem woman in 2022, according to the Northampton County District Attorney's Office.

A Lehigh County judge has denied a request by Francis Anonia, the former Parkland School District performing arts administrator, to suppress videos allegedly recovered from his cell phone during an invasion of privacy investigation by county detectives.

Lehigh County Coroner Daniel Buglio found the victim died of blunt force injuries after being struck by a vehicle. He ruled the manner of death as homicide.

Abviud Carvajal, of Allentown, after a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Nov. 18, was ordered to face county court on the charges, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan said in a news release.

Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, did not sign the discharge petition that will force a vote on releasing the Epstein files on Tuesday. However, Mackenzie has said for months he would support the measure if it came to a vote.

Costas Alesta's motion to withdraw his guilty plea filed was denied by county judge Judge Samuel P. Murray in a one-page order filed Friday, Nov. 7, county District Attorney Stephen G. Baratta said.

Ti'Shaun Singleton was pronounced dead early Saturday evening, according to the Lehigh County Coroner's Office. The coroner ruled homicide as the manner of death.

LehighValleyNews.com, lehighvalleylive.com and The Morning Call have filed a joint motion seeking the release of sealed court records connected to a grand jury drug case investigation. The documents have been sealed for two months even though an order sealing at least one of them expired more than a month ago.

An attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press argued that a motion to unseal court dockets tied to a drug bust should be allowed to continue in Lehigh County Court. LehighValleyNews.com, lehighvalleylive.com and the Morning Call have joined in the effort to make the records public.

Brenda Rodriguez, 52, of Palmerton, is the final of three defendants to be sentenced in the Dec. 7, 2024, shooting death of her husband, Hector Garcia Gomez, in the parking lot of Loco Hot Deals, 1155 MacArthur Road.

The “No Hate in Our State” town hall, organized by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, is scheduled for noon Saturday at POWER Interfaith, 620 Hamilton St.

Federal prosecutors dismissed criminal charges alleging Tighe Scott assaulted police outside the U.S. Capitol Building. The decision stems from President Donald Trump's executive order pardoning more than 1,000 people convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and all ongoing dismissing ongoing prosecutions.

Francis Anonia, a former Parkland High School performing arts teacher, was arraigned in Lehigh County Court on Friday morning on charges he used his cell phone multiple times to secretly record a male student in a school changing room in 2022. If found guilty of all 19 charges, he could face up to 88 years in prison.

Join Megan Frank at 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. every Friday for Insights with LehighValleyNews.com on WLVR. This week Megan talks to Jason Addy and Phil Gianficaro.

Council on Wednesday introduced a bill to hire a Philadelphia law firm to analyze Allentown's nondiscrimination and personnel policies and end a long-running probe.

Council announced federal investigators’ involvement Wednesday, two days after dozens protested outside City Hall, demanding the FBI to take over the probe into what many have called a hate crime.

The leader of the U.S. Center for SafeSport wrote in an email that the revelation of former Allentown Police investigator Jason Krasley's arrest on rape charges was “just sickening,” while also saying there was no reason to believe he’d committed any wrongdoing while working for the center.

A 62-year-old woman has been arrested in a Northampton County animal cruelty case, state police announced Wednesday.

A Northampton County Judge sentenced William Strunk Tuesday to 20-40 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty to third-degree murder.

Court documents recently unsealed by Lehigh County officials shine new light on rape and prostitution-related charges filed last week against a current and former Allentown cop.

Joshua Gonzalez, 40, of South Whitehall Township, faces 70 to 140 years in prison, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office.

About 50 people rallied Monday outside Allentown City Hall, calling for federal intervention after a Black employee found a noose on her desk last week.