Criminal Justice

Allentown police allege Adam Makowka, 27, used a fire escape to enter Jerkera Battle's apartment and shot her to death with an AR-15. Makowka also is charged with trying to kill another man in the apartment.

Tamir Johnson, 35, got out of his car and swung a bat, hitting the other driver’s door. That driver fired one shot that struck Johnson, authorities said.

Jorge Suarez-Santiago, 33, was sentenced to 5-to-15 years in prison in the drug-induced death of his 22-month-old son.

A man whose body was found in a field near Salisbury Elementary School on Friday morning has been identified.

ICE has confirmed the arrest of a suspected murderer from Honduras, Yobani Bonilla-Bonilla, aka, Gilberto Perez-Alvarado, in Easton in June 2025.

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.”

Both DUI arrests and speeding citations were up over last year.

Law enforcement is Lehigh County's greatest expense.

Vandals struck on the ground and main floors, and cash from a donation box was stolen, officials said.

Bethlehem officials are still investigating.

The legislation cracks down on the illegal operation of dirt bikes and ATVs in the Lehigh Valley.

Charges were filed against Bethlehem's former Budget and Finance director on Thursday.

The more important topic was keeping people safe and getting rid of gun violence.

Staff and extra security will be looking for kids left alone.

There is no public space in the Lehigh Valley in which it is legal to ride an ATV.

The four will be listed alongside 98 others who have died in the line of duty since the state police agency’s founding in 1905.

Violators face fines up to $2,500 and two years' imprisonment, under Pa.'s election code.

Pa. Attorney General Josh Shapiro applauds the move and says he's prepared for pushback from gun rights groups.