Criminal Justice

The drowning death of a Hanover Township, Northampton County, child in July has been ruled accidental, the district attorney said.

On a narrow residential street, Etienne Theagene was driving 40.7 mph when he struck and killed Edward Tomcics, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.

Edward Tomcics was fatally struck on the night of Dec. 25 outside his home on Water Street. More than seven months later, authorities charged the man who hit him.

Officials on Thursday said Allentown YMCA will open its shelter at least six weeks early this year to serve some residents of a homeless encampment who are being evicted.

Authorities in Allentown arrested a pair of brothers on drug charges Thursday morning, and seized nearly half a million dollars worth of cocaine at one of their homes.

Easton City Council opted to remove a Welcoming City ordinance from its Wednesday agenda, leading to a debate among council and the public as to the need for and intent of the legislation.

Yandiel Onil Gonzalez, 16, surrendered to authorities Wednesday and will be charged as an adult, police said in a news release. The shooting occurred July 12 on South Side.

A recent ruling from Pennsylvania's Supreme Court seemingly marks a major shift in how DUI cases can be prosecuted, with the court ruling that if a driver hasn’t been previously convicted, the state can’t punish them as if they were.

Residents who spoke to LehighValleyNews.com said they don’t know where they will go; the camp near Tilghman Street was an oasis for many who previously lived alone or in small groups.

LaTarsha Brown, an Allentown School Board member, was accepted Thursday into the Lehigh County’s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program.

Jeani Garcia, who took the helm at Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley this year, was recently named to serve on the executive committee for the state’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

Former Allentown police officer Jason Krasley was charged with stealing more than $5,000 in May 2019 as he and other Vice and Intelligence Unit officers searched a barbershop. Separately, Krasley still faces several other charges, including rape, sexual assault and prostitution.

Authorities allege Adam Makowka, 28, of South Whitehall Township, fatally shot Jereka Battle in her Allentown apartment in July.

"Behind Closed Doors: Opening Conversations That Matter" brought panelists to the Northampton County Courthouse to discuss domestic violence and the role the law plays.

A Lehigh County detective Monday explained his process for obtaining a cell phone from Francis Anonia, Parkland School District's former performing arts administrator charged with secretly recording a student changing clothes. Anonia's lawyer asked a judge to throw out key evidence in the case.

Christian Martinez-Ramos, 36, was sentenced Monday to 30 to 60 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to murder and conspiracy to commit murder, according to authorities.

A 22-year-old Allentown man has been charged in connection with a 2024 fatal shooting at Fountain Park in Allentown. He is one of four people charged in the shooting death of Angel Martinez-Velez.

Michael Breisch, of Wind Gap, was accused of killing Rose Josephine Hnath, a 78-year-old widow, in her North Whitehall Township home in January 1989, when he was 30 years old.

State police at Fogelsville said the boy died after being taken by ambulance to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest on Thursday afternoon.

The false bomb threat prompted a 90-minute evacuation at Allen High School on Thursday. Police are investigating.

The former Nazareth Area and Ohio State University wrestling star enrolled in an ARD program. Charges of unlicensed gun possession and drug possession are likely to be dismissed upon completion of the program.

Authorities did not name the boys — ages 14 and 15 — as they announced charges of terroristic charges and assault by physical menace.