Criminal Justice

Gabriel Cartagena was "considered armed and dangerous," District Attorney Gavin Holihan said Thursday, two days after Allentown police said there was no ongoing danger to the public related to last weekend's shootings.

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.

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.

A video recording shows an Allentown police officer delivering seven blows to 29-year-old Michael Iucolino’s leg as three other officers surrounded him on the ground. He was then shocked with a Taser. Police said Iucolino "continued to be an assailant throughout the entire encounter."

Officers called to a shooting in Bethlehem found a man with a gunshot wound to the body. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital in critical condition, police said.

Joshua Ortiz, 28, of Allentown, had pleaded guilty April 22 to attempted murder — a first-degree felony — in the June 4, 2023, incident in the parking lot of AutoZone, 1871 S. Fifth St., Allentown.

Allentown authorities have released the names and images of two individuals suspected of being involved in the shooting of an 11-year-old boy on June 13. 2024, and are asking for help finding the pair.

Kareem Ali Greene, 40, served more than a decade in state prison after pleading guilty to a March 2007 armed robbery in South Allentown, court records show.

Two council members hit back at the mayor Tuesday, saying they have no concerns about the process that led them to hire a former FBI agent to investigate allegations of workplace discrimination and racism.

The helicopter from Pennsylvania State Police was used during an enforcement detail Saturday afternoon and evening in Allentown, officials said. They say the plan is to use the helicopter throughout the summer.

Allentown police are investigating after a boy was injured by a stray bullet Thursday.

Zebbelin Standish, 36, formerly of Easton, was sentenced Wednesday in Northampton County Court after a four-day February trial in which he was convicted of 55 felony counts.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan says machine gun conversion devices, also known as Glock switches, are becoming increasingly common in the region. The illegal modifications turn semi-automatic firearms into automatic weapons.

An Allentown police officer is on the mend after suffering a medical episode on Monday, a release from the department said.

Senior Magisterial District Judge Jackie Taschner ruled that a jury needed to decide whether Debra Biro, Melanie Heilman, Steve Lynch and Richard Morea's raucous behavior at a June 8, 2023, Northampton County Republican Committee meeting amounted to a crime.