Criminal Justice

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.

Law enforcement officials seized dark clothing, medical gloves, a flashlight and other items from a Pennsylvania home where they arrested a graduate student charged with stabbing four University of Idaho students to death. That is according to newly unsealed court documents.

An Idaho magistrate judge on Tuesday reportedly issued a gag order in the Bryan Kohberger case, barring officials from talking publicly about many aspects of the case outside of court.

Bryan Kohberger, the man with Lehigh Valley ties facing first-degree murder charges in the slayings of four University of Idaho students, did not fight extradition at a hearing Tuesday in Monroe County Court.

People in Pennsylvania who buy or carry fentanyl testing strips will no longer face potential criminal charges for possession of drug paraphernalia.

Allentown police say four people were shot Sunday night in the 1100 block of East Clair Street — site of the nonprofit East Side Youth Center. On Tuesday, folks played pickleball inside with the doors locked.

Gavin P. Holihan will join the Lehigh County District Attorney's office as First Assistant DA this month.

The Pennsylvania State Police investigated hundreds of crashes over the Christmas holiday weekend, with a rise in crashes, fatal crashes and the number of people killed. One fatality occurred during an alcohol-related crash in Lower Macungie Township.

Officers found one victim at the scene Sunday night. As they were investigating, three more victims showed up at the hospital to be treated for gunshot wounds.

Police said they have yet to locate a murder weapon. But they indicated the arrest of Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, in the Poconos early Friday was a breakthrough. “What I can tell you is we have an individual in custody who committed these horrible crimes and I do believe our community is safe,” Police Chief James Fry said.

The child died Tuesday after he was shot in the basement of an Allentown home. Authorities said his 10-year-old brother accidentally fired a handgun the boys found.

The victim in a Tuesday night shooting incident in Allentown was an 11-year-old child shot by his 10-year-old brother, police and the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office said.

Pennsylvania State Police have arrested and charged a Glenside, Montgomery County, man with two second-degree felonies, other charges.

A three-car crash in Lower Macungie almost exactly a year ago has now resulted in several charges including homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence.