Criminal Justice

Macungie residents, including a long-serving corporal of the police department, packed a borough council meeting Wednesday morning to protest a revised police internal affairs policy.

Allentown police used city surveillance cameras and license-plate readers to track a vehicle and identify two suspects that fled the area of shooting.

Lehigh County Judge Thomas Caffrey said criminal dockets related to an interstate drug ring should have been unsealed weeks ago. LehighValleyLive.com, LehighValleyNews.com and The Morning Call had petitioned the court to release information pertaining to dozens of criminal defendants.

Authorities are trying to sort through exactly what led to a 29-year-old man's death near South Fourth Street and Emaus Avenue. The district attorney says the victim had confronted the delivery driver whom he believed had damaged his vehicle.

Marquis Michael Watkins has been sentenced to life without parole in the shooting death of a Bethlehem woman in 2022, according to the Northampton County District Attorney's Office.

A Lehigh County judge has denied a request by Francis Anonia, the former Parkland School District performing arts administrator, to suppress videos allegedly recovered from his cell phone during an invasion of privacy investigation by county detectives.

Lehigh County Coroner Daniel Buglio found the victim died of blunt force injuries after being struck by a vehicle. He ruled the manner of death as homicide.

Abviud Carvajal, of Allentown, after a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Nov. 18, was ordered to face county court on the charges, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan said in a news release.

Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, did not sign the discharge petition that will force a vote on releasing the Epstein files on Tuesday. However, Mackenzie has said for months he would support the measure if it came to a vote.

Costas Alesta's motion to withdraw his guilty plea filed was denied by county judge Judge Samuel P. Murray in a one-page order filed Friday, Nov. 7, county District Attorney Stephen G. Baratta said.

It happened about 5:40 p.m. Friday near South Third and West Union streets in Allentown as city police and state troopers were conducting "high visibility proactive traffic enforcement," state police said. The motorist was taken to a hospital along with another motorist injured when struck by the offending vehicle.

Autopsy reveals cause and manner of death on Tuesday's incident in West Catasauqua Park.

Christopher Ferrante's case became key to the primary race for Northampton County District Attorney. A Common Pleas judge will soon decide whether the case can move forward, and weigh in on one dispute from the primary in the process.

Easton Police Chief Carl Scalzo and South Side Civic Association President Melody Davis-Rogers alerted the community to several car break-ins on South Side at a city council meeting Wednesday.

A 35-year-old woman was shot and killed at a playground in the township on Tuesday, authorities said. Rami Abouloh, 41, has been charged in the incident, according to court documents.

Supporters detailed the merits of the program Tuesday ahead of the council’s imminent deadline to vote on the proposal.

Prosecutors confirmed Johnathan Miklich, a Moore Township police officer, remains suspended from duty. His wife and ex-girlfriend previously accused him of harassment and assault.

Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott outlined the potential for a part-time detective to team up with other agencies to address sex trafficking and child exploitation.

The Lehigh County Office of the Public Defender is set to host its fifth “Community Outreach Day” from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday in the parking garage at Seventh and Walnut streets.

The juvenile charged appeared Thursday in juvenile court and admitted to the allegations involving the tampering of food products with sewing needles at the Lower Macungie Township Giant supermarket

In February, society members called a news conference to detail what they described as a campaign of threats and harassment by a rogue group of temple members. The 3 accused are part of that group, according to the temple leadership.

Lance Wheeler, an Easton community activist and former Easton City Council candidate, has been charged with harassing three students while driving a Wilson Area School District van in 2022.