Criminal Justice

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency awarded Bethlehem a $726,000 grant in January to provide programming intended to reduce violence in five neighborhoods. City officials will begin surveying residents about their needs next week.

A woman accused of intentionally abandoning her dog at a Pennsylvania airport before she boarded a flight to a resort in Mexico earlier this month has been charged with animal cruelty and related charges.

Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said Dominick Hogans ran from police and then shot at them July 24, 2023. Officers were within their rights when they returned fire, fatally shooting him nine times, Martin said.

A Lehigh County report found "systemic overdiagnosis" of medical child abuse, formerly known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy. People came to the Lehigh County Commissioners meeting and said LVHN has falsely accused many of the disorder.

A new problem-solving court is aimed at keeping military veterans charged with crimes out of jail by treating and addressing the underlying causes of criminality.

The Ohio State wrestler was hospitalized after being shot during a reported robbery attempt Friday in Columbus, Ohio. Sasso, a Nazareth Area High School alum, is a two-time PIAA state champion wrestler.

Multiple news outlets are reporting Sasso was shot Friday night near the Ohio State University campus. He's a three-time All-American wrestler and two-time PIAA state champion from Nazareth Area High School.

Three suspects from two cases have been charged with scamming older Pennsylvanians; one of the victims is from Lehigh County. The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office is offering tips on recognizing and fighting scams.

Roger Kornfeind will serve up to 10 years in state prison after defrauding 88 victims of more than $1.5 million over nearly four years.

Bethlehem City Council unanimously approved BPD to join other Lehigh County agencies to combat crime through the use of shared investigative data.

Officers shot and killed a 27-year-old Allentown man after he shot at them early Monday morning, according to Assistant Chief Michael Becker.

Police are warning folks not to deposit mail in the dropbox outside the Palmer branch of the Easton Post Office. They say several checks have been stolen from the mail.

Starting this summer, the Bethlehem Police Department will use stop-arm cameras to capture and enforce illegal school bus passing in its jurisdiction.

The virtual town hall will be streamed on Zoom at 7 p.m. Thursday. Lehigh Valley Stands Up is planning to host an in-person watch party.

A Northampton County jury found Christopher Ferrante not guilty of drug delivery resulting in death Tuesday, while convicting him on six lesser charges.

Testimony in the trial of Christopher Ferrante, charged in the 2020 overdose death of Michael Racciato, concluded Monday with Ferrante himself, along with his handler in the Allentown Police Department.

Body camera footage caught Phil Racciato identifying Christopher Ferrante to police as the alleged drug supplier who he says routinely provided his son Michael "Mikey" Racciato with illicit drugs.

Prosecutors presented data pulled from the cell phones of former state champion Pen Argyl wrestler Michael Racciato and defendant Christopher Ferrante, who stands accused of providing the fentanyl that led to Racciato's death in a Lower Nazareth Township parking lot.

Michael "Mikey" Racciato's father recounted the events leading up to his son's death in December 2020, including multiple overdoses, visits to rehab facilities and eventually discovering his son dead from a fentanyl overdose.

Northampton County's district attorney's office is touting $168,000 in drug money that law enforcement has confiscated.

The trial of Christopher Ferrante, charged in connection with the overdose death of Michael Racciato, began Monday. The case attracted scrutiny during the race for Northampton County District Attorney earlier this year.

Lawyers for Christopher Ferrante, charged with drug delivery resulting in death, told the court Monday he conducted at least two undercover drug buys for Allentown police.