Criminal Justice

Police are investigating after a 37-year-old man was found dead on the 1400 block of Gaskill Avenue in Salisbury Township.

Sammy Sasso, a former Nazareth Area High School state wrestling champion, is charged with possessing unlicensed guns and a controlled substance after police said they stopped the car he was driving because of an expired registration.

Witness said Jose Vladimir Jerez, 24, of Allentown, was driving erratically while trying to pass another car when he crashed his car into a utility pole in October. A 20-year-old passenger, Ezequiel Hernandez-Cartagena, died less than 90 minutes later.

A former Easton Area High School resource officer who pleaded guilty to sending a sexually explicit image of himself to a 16-year-old female student in 2024 was sentenced to 9-to-24 months in Northampton County Prison, it was announced on Wednesday.

Said Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott, “It’s not used for enforcement. It’s just a means, similar to the news media, of being able to bring up that camera and check the traffic conditions, or if there's an accident, it could be utilized for investigative purposes.”

Angel Martinez-Velez, 25, of Allentown, was shot and killed June 1, 2024, on the basketball court at Allentown's Fountain Park.

Allentown police were called just before 2 a.m. Sunday to a home in the 100 block of Pine Street, where officers found a girl suffering from a gunshot wound to the face, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office.

Police were called to a South Side neighborhood just before 11:30 p.m. on Saturday for a report of a shooting. All of the wounded are expected to survive, police said.

John Gehrmann, stepfather of Palmer teen Enci "Aubrey" Wu, has been charged with illegally recording phone conversations with authorities and other individuals while he was looking into the girl's disappearance.

Mayor Matt Tuerk called on the county's president judge to “issue a public and unambiguous policy” banning ICE agents from county courthouses, a move he said would “be a major step in restoring trust in government and faith in its fairness.”

Northampton County recently shut down its work-release program; Lehigh County ended its over a year ago.

The 13-year veteran of the Allentown Police Department had been hospitalized since early this year.

To help ease the strain of surging COVID cases, officials are considering letting some inmates go home on work release.

Chief Charles Roca will lead the department with Assistant Chiefs Michael Becker and James Gress.

The American Civil Liberties Union was among the chief opponents of approval.

Mark Pinsley says it would reduce food waste and provide job training for the incarcerated.

Activist groups have called on state police to be more transparent in use of force cases.

The district attorney's office says Nothstein stalked a female acquaintance and her boyfriend.

Police say the "smash and grab" theft could be part of a bigger national trend.

Access to health care is critical for the formerly incarcerated, say advocates and First Lady Wolf.

Police say five masked men entered the Lower Macungie Township store and fled in under a minute.

Gun violence in Pennsylvania has gone up in the pandemic. Pennsylvania State Police data show it’s risen 50% statewide.