Criminal Justice

It happened a little before 7 p.m. Wednesday at Easton Avenue and Beech Street in Bethlehem.

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.

Packages stolen before they have a chance to be received are often deemed as being taken by “porch pirates,” who now may face stricter consequences under Pa. law.

The Lehigh County coroner identified a 44-year-old woman and a 1-year-old boy who died in a chaotic night of gunfire in Allentown late Friday.

Gavin Holihan took the oath of office Tuesday morning as Lehigh County's new district attorney. He said he'll divert resources away from penny-ante issues to focus on battling violent crime.

In the wake of a trio of shootings in Allentown Friday night that left two dead and six more injured, some of the city's political, civic and religious leaders met Sunday to call for action.

The 1-year-old and a 44-year-old woman were among three people shot in a home in the 100 block of Chestnut Street in Allentown. Over the next several hours, five more people would be shot in two more separate shooting incidents.

Two shootings occurred around 9 p.m. Friday. Authorities found two people dead in a house in the 100 block of Chestnut Street in Allentown's First Ward, the incoming Lehigh County district attorney said. One of them was a 1-year-old boy, the coroner said.

Under the bill, gun owners could lose their license to carry if they try to take a loaded weapon onto a plane. This would be similar to losing a license for possessing a small amount of marijuana, one lawmaker said.

"Be aware, set your alarms," Lower Saucon Township Police Chief Thomas Barndt said at a township council meeting.

Lehigh County Courthouse is expected to reopen a week after fire sprinklers damaged the building's electrical system Tuesday night.

The social studies teacher at William Allen High School was accused of drug crimes following a March raid of her home by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office. She resigned a few weeks later, citing "personal" reasons.

The new position will appear on the ballot in 2025. The Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas had one of the higher caseloads for counties of its size.

Isiah Yeager, 24, was arrested in mid-June after a 29-year-old Bethlehem man was fatally stabbed at Synergy Hookah Lounge on Allentown’s East Side.