Criminal Justice

Authorities charged the Fountain Hill teen with three counts of aggravated assault, four counts of recklessly endangering others and a single count of carrying a firearm without a license.

The shooter fired a single shot after the other driver got out of his car and attacked him with a baseball bat, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office. The dead man is a 35-year-old from Whitehall, the coroner said.

The gunman showed up uninvited at a gathering outside a borough home late on the Fourth of July, borough police said. He fled after shooting three people as well as apparently accidentally shooting himself in the leg, the police chief said. The 18-year-old is being charged with several assault and weapons crimes.

The $2.75 million payment to the federal government resolves allegations that a pharmacy technician stole controlled substances on about 40 occasions and the health network failed to institute proper controls.

More than two years after the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, the former Northampton Community College and DeSales University student pleaded guilty in a deal to avoid the death penalty.

Multiple media outlets report Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty. A change of plea hearing is set for Wednesday. Kohberger’s trial had been set to begin in August

Jorge Gonzalez, 40, is accused of killing 85-year-old Elian Makdsi in October 2023 as he was in the intersection at North Jerome Street and Union Boulevard.

Christopher Fitzgerald was a former Lehigh County corrections officer and is the son of former Allentown Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald. He was the first Temple University officer killed in the line of duty.

Northampton County officials appointed a new sheriff Wednesday: Christopher Zieger, formerly the department’s second-in-command.

The former West Easton clerk is charged with three felonies for allegedly accepting cash payments for residents' bills but never depositing the money in a borough account. He never returned to work after being sent a text informing him of his suspension in 2023, court records show.

As of Sept. 17, nearly half the holding areas in the Northampton County Prison were in quarantine due to what officials are calling a “delta outbreak.” Cases have jumped this month from almost none at the end of August to now more than 30 among inmates and employees.

The Lehigh County Sheriff’s Office recently received accreditation from The Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise at the Northampton County Prison (NCP) where just under half of the jail’s nearly 600 inmates are vaccinated.

By a unanimous decision, Allentown City Council named Charles Roca the city’s new chief of police.

Newly released FBI data show hate crimes in the U.S. hit a 12-year high in 2020.

A Pennsylvania State Police Officer recalls when United Flight 93 crashed into a Somerset County field on September 11th, 2001.

The Lehigh County jail has held two voluntary mass clinics with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine since May, putting shots into 322 arms. Corrections Director Janine Donate said now they’ve switched strategies: they are waiting until they get enough inmates interested - about four or five - to use up a vial of vaccine.

The Allentown Police Department is hoping to expand a program that could reduce some interactions with law enforcement and help connect people with social services.

The Bethlehem Police Department is once again hosting its annual Citizens Police Academy after a pandemic-related hiatus.

Lehigh Valley advocates for criminal justice reform are calling on area law enforcement departments to increase transparency, emphasizing how use-of-force incidents are documented.

Allentown City Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach denies any wrongdoing after being charged with child endangerment in Lehigh County and says she has not committed any crimes.

Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin announced charges June 29 against Allentown City Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach for endangering the welfare of a child and failing to report suspected child abuse, both misdemeanors.