Criminal Justice

A Pennsylvania State Police trooper was justified when he shot at a 47-year-old Allentown man who allegedly drove at the trooper, according to Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin.

Residents near the area had been asked to shelter in place.

Robert Bowen Jr. is being held at Northampton County Prison in lieu of $500,000 bail. Police said they found him in possession of explosives and a homemade gun after he said he intended to detonate a bomb at Musikfest.

Armed with a search warrant, Bethlehem police say they detained a man Friday who allegedly made statements of his intent to build and detonate an improvised explosive during Musikfest.

Bill Bachenberg is accused in a $10 million lawsuit of hiring a cybersecurity company to analyze voting machines in Fulton County for voting irregularities but than stiffing it when it found no evidence of voter fraud.

Jonathan A. Richards, 41, of Shillington, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.24% at the time of the crash — three times the legal limit, authorities said.

Political observers in the Lehigh Valley said the new criminal charges against former President Donald Trump won't be enough to shake up the 2024 presidential race. Despite two impeachments and multiple federal charges, the 45th president still dominates the Republican Party.

Thong Pham hit his head in September 2019 after he was punched at an Allentown bar, authorities said. He never regained consciousness and died in 2021.

The Allentown Police Department can now enter a formal contract to work with Pinebrook Family Answers' “community intervention specialists.”

The rehab program, if completed succesfully by the accused person, could result in their charges being reduced or dropped before they even make it to court.

An Allentown police officer was arrested and charged Tuesday with attempted homicide and related counts, court records show. He was ordered to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $750,000 bail.

Prosecutors say they are seeking the death penalty against a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death late last year.

One hookah lounge owner said he bought a metal detector and is doing all he can to ensure customers are safe, but he wants help from police.

Pennsylvania State Police are investigating after one person was hurt Sunday morning in a shooting at the Waffle House on Airport Road, according to Trooper Nathan Branosky.

The Bethlehem Police Department is working to revamp and expand its surveillance capabilities throughout the city, with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.

'After-hours' establishments could face huge fines — and potential closure — for violating nuisance-abatement ordinances, under a resolution introduced by the city council. Council was critical of the Tuerk administration's response to violence.

The Northampton County district attorney recently asked if the Bethlehem Police Department would dedicate an officer to a part-time role in a human trafficking task force.

An Allentown hookah lounge where a 29-year-old man was fatally stabbed over the weekend is facing eviction, according to court documents.

Isiah Yeager, 23, of Allentown, is facing a criminal homicide charge after police said he twice stabbed 29-year-old Kevin Tarafa, of Bethlehem, at Synergy Hookah Lounge on Allentown's East Side.

Pennsylvania State Police on Monday night said the driver, a 47-year-old man from Allentown, was not struck by gunfire, as state police initially reported. A trooper fired two rounds after a traffic stop Friday night at South Third and West Union streets. The driver was ordered to Lehigh County Jail.

Sunday’s fatal stabbing at Synergy Hookah Lounge on Union Boulevard in Allentown was “the last straw,” the building's owner said, adding he wants the business “gone like cancer.”

A trooper and a suspect both were shot and killed in a shootout in central Pennsylvania, just hours after a 2nd trooper was seriously injured after being shot by the gunman, according to Pennsylvania State Police.