Criminal Justice

Christian Martinez-Ramos, 36, was sentenced Monday to 30 to 60 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to murder and conspiracy to commit murder, according to authorities.

A 22-year-old Allentown man has been charged in connection with a 2024 fatal shooting at Fountain Park in Allentown. He is one of four people charged in the shooting death of Angel Martinez-Velez.

Michael Breisch, of Wind Gap, was accused of killing Rose Josephine Hnath, a 78-year-old widow, in her North Whitehall Township home in January 1989, when he was 30 years old.

State police at Fogelsville said the boy died after being taken by ambulance to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest on Thursday afternoon.

The false bomb threat prompted a 90-minute evacuation at Allen High School on Thursday. Police are investigating.

The former Nazareth Area and Ohio State University wrestling star enrolled in an ARD program. Charges of unlicensed gun possession and drug possession are likely to be dismissed upon completion of the program.

Authorities did not name the boys — ages 14 and 15 — as they announced charges of terroristic charges and assault by physical menace.

Grelvis Estevez Cabrera, of Bethlehem, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole for the June 1, 2024, killing of 25-year-old Angel Martinez-Velez.

Marquis Michael Watkins, 25, on Thursday was convicted of second-degree murder and related offenses after a four-day Northampton County Court jury trial, county District Attorney Stephen G. Baratta said.

The Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office and ArtsQuest will work together to bring a DUI Awareness Campaign to this year’s Oktoberfest at SteelStacks.

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.

The delivery driver was wanted on a warrant issued Dec. 10 on charges of third-degree murder in the Nov. 21 killing of 29-year-old Rigiberto Hernandez Arias, of Allentown, authorities said.

Several signature displays — valued at more than $60,000 — were unsalvageable and declared “total losses" after vandals struck over the weekend at Lights in the Parkway, according to officials.

“Every time someone makes the intentional decision to get behind the wheel intoxicated, they endanger every person they encounter on the roadway,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said. “I have seen far too many tragedies caused by completely avoidable vehicle crashes rooted to DUI.”

Lights in the Parkway will be closed Sunday night after significant vandalism caused extensive damage to holiday light displays and park facilities at Lehigh Parkway, according to Allentown officials.

Currently authorized to employ 154 officers, the city department has 138 on the roster, but only 127 can report for work for various reasons, Chief Michelle Kott told City Council during a Nov. 20 budget hearing.

Prosecutors finally shared details of the charges with some defendants after three-and-a-half months, but a court order bars them from disclosing any of the information publicly.