Criminal Justice

Brenda Rodriguez entered the plea before Lehigh County Judge Robert L. Steinberg. She is scheduled to be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 5 and could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Matthew Torres pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle while DUI and other charges in the Aug. 4, 2024, death of Leanna Ferraj, 24, of Brooklyn, New York, who was a front-seat passenger in his car.

Two unnamed male students were arrested after previous hoax reports this month. No one was immediately arrested in connection with Wednesday's bomb threat at Allen High School.

The shooting occurred in the area of North Codorus Township in York County — about 115 miles west of Philadelphia, not far from the Maryland line. The shooter was killed by police, authorities said.

Emil Giordano served as a presiding judge on Northampton County Court, Third Judicial District, from 204 through 2018. He joins Tom Shortell on the latest episode of Lehigh Valley Political Pulse to shed some insight on the role and his time on the bench.

Christopher Fitzgerald also served as a correctional officer at Lehigh County Jail at the start of his law enforcement career.

Monday’s bomb threat came less than a week after another hoax, according to Allentown police.

The driver — only identified Friday as a 51-year-old man from Bethlehem — was taken to a local hospital after the crash, authorities said.

Lehigh County Commissioner Zach Cole-Borghi is the only defendant in an alleged interstate marijuana ring whom authorities have publicly identified. He made his first public comments since being arrested Aug. 28 at his job at Bethlehem City Hall.

The controller's report — published in mid-July — says the Guardian ad Litem program in Lehigh County lacks centralization, oversight and consistency in billing and compensation. That undermines "public trust in child welfare proceedings," he said.

DeSales University Homeland Security majors received first-hand knowledge of the challenges and requirements of the job at the third annual DeSales University Center for Homeland Security Conference on Wednesday.

Two members of the popular Schaffrillas Productions team died in a motor vehicle collision on Sunday.

Faith leaders in Allentown held a service Sunday night remembering Nichols and lamenting the forces that ended his life.

Northampton County's district attorney announced the program Thursday, saying it keeps the county ready for anything.

Lehigh County has laid out a budget plan for the $17.5 million received through lawsuits with opioid manufacturers

Lehigh University asks for the community's continuing assistance in locating Daniel Lee, a student who has been missing since Friday, Jan. 20. A Wednesday message to faculty and students asked that all tips be directed to campus safety at 610-758-4200.

The new unit will allow law enforcement from municipal, state and county agencies to pool resources for particularly complex cases.

A driver is suspected by police to have been driving under the influence and had fallen asleep behind the wheel in the Friday morning crash between a double tractor-trailer and a decommissioned school bus on I-78 that closed both lanes.

Daniel Lee, a Lehigh University student, has been missing since Friday, Jan. 20, according to Lehigh University officials. No foul play is suspected.

The crash occurred at I-78 westbound on marker 48.3 Pennsylvania State Police Public Information Officer Nathan Branosky said.

Lehigh president Joseph J. Helble said "racist language" was used, but the assault was not racially motivated.

Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin will not be seeking reelection after nearly 25 years in the office