Criminal Justice

Mayor Matt Tuerk called Allentown “one of the safest large cities” in Pennsylvania, citing statistics that show only Bethlehem has a lower per-capita violent-crime rate among cities with more than 50,000 residents.

Four people were victims of homicides in Allentown last year; 19 people were killed in homicides in 2023, according to data from the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office.

FOP Washington Lodge #17, representing Easton Police Department officers, announced the approval of a new four-year contract with the city, set to be settled with council on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025.

A man was carjacked at gunpoint Thursday after arranging a deal on Facebook Marketplace to sell shoes to two men, according to court documents.

The body of Jesse Rutt, of Walnutport, was discovered at 11:34 p.m. in the area of the Slate Heritage Trail in the 300 block of East Church Street.

Daniel Leibensperger, 34, of Emmaus, was charged Dec. 19, the day after after his girlfriend was stabbed, authorities said Tuesday in a news release. Leibensperger's body was found Dec. 26 in Allentown's Jordan Creek.

The body of an unidentified man was discovered Monday in the water of an underground quarry, the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office said.

Donations for 30 residents displaced can be made online or via mail (checks payable to UWGLV, 1110 American Parkway NE, Suite F-120, Allentown 18109 — attention “Cedar Street Fire Fund”).

Flames trapped a woman in the basement of her home, according to charges filed against Santos Mota-Ramirez. Police say he set the fire after trying to fatally stab another woman. The blaze affected seven row homes Thursday night and displaced 30 people.

Neighbors and community leaders responded to a row home fire that spread to other homes on West Cedar Street in Allentown on Thursday night.

Social media platforms, a toll-free number and online tip form are all part of what police are calling “PSP Tips” – a means for the community to provide information that might help solve a case, including some that are decades old.

The Pardon Project is designed to help low-income residents convicted of nonviolent crimes who have pleaded guilty and completed their sentence at least five years ago to eventually have their record expunged.

Allen Jahmell Grimes, 18, of Bethlehem, is reportedly awaiting extradition at Rikers Island in New York City after being caught by U.S. Marshals over the weekend.

Financial assistance is on the way to help a Lehigh Valley nonprofit that assists women who have been sex trafficked. Bloom for Women can now make upgrades to the housing they offer and begin providing services to men and children with the money.

The shooting that killed 3-year-old Elijah Abreu Borgen in Allentown on Thursday remains under investigation, the Lehigh County coroner ruled Friday.

The Allentown Police Department is investigating the shooting death of a 3-year-old boy on the city’s East Side.

The Northampton County District Attorney’s Office and Lower Saucon Township police have announced additional charges in connection with bomb threats made in the school district last week.

Four members of the Northampton County Republican Committee's executive board face criminal charges filed by Glenn Geissinger, the board's chairman.

Police are still investigating what they have labeled a suspicious package found at a distribution center in Lower Macungie Township on Monday afternoon. Local authorities have enlisted the FBI's help.

Council members Ce-Ce Gerlach and Ed Zucal are sponsoring a bill to remove imprisonment as a potential consequence for breaking some city ordinances.

The Northampton County District Attorney's Office says charges have been filed in juvenile court against a girl in relation to bomb threats made in Saucon Valley School District this week.

Eric Gratz, 42, of Alburtis, in a hearing before Judge Anna-Kristie M. Marks pleaded guilty to two counts of solicitation to commit prostitution, a third-degree misdemeanor