Criminal Justice

Police said Amir Sims-Watson, 17, opened fire on a group of pedestrians in Allentown before robbing a woman at gunpoint at Trexler Middle School. Two other teens are charged in the shooting.

Easton City Councilman Frank Pintabone will host a Clean Slate information session this July to help eligible individuals get on the path to clear their criminal record.

Federal immigration officials on Friday issued their first statement since arresting 17 people at the Five10 Flats on June 11. Mayor J. Williams Reynolds this week described the arrests as "an American tragedy."

District Attorney Gavin Holihan said Gary J. Moyer 73, of South Whitehall, left a note among his final words saying, “Please convey my apologies to the officer who gets stuck shooting me.”

LaTarsha Brown, who works in the city's Department of Community and Economic Development, did not appear Tuesday in Lehigh County Court.

Christian Lopez-Rodriguez, 21, of Allentown, was shot and killed Oct. 17, 2020, during a robbery on the Hamilton Street bridge.

About 500 people rallied at two spots Thursday night — outside the Five10 Flats building where ICE agents arrested 17 people the day before, and at Bethlehem City Hall.

Easton City Council has officially adopted a change that will see possession and use of small amounts of marijuana reduced to a citation and fine as opposed to a misdemeanor crime.

Earlier Wednesday, Bethlehem Police Department said in a release that shortly before 7 a.m., it "received a courtesy notification from agents with the Department of Homeland Security that federal agents were actively searching" for the individual. The search involved the area of the 500 block of East 3rd Street, police said.

Between March 2020 and September 2023, Louis Belletieri transferred millions from an escrow account to his personal and business accounts, according to federal prosecutors.

Lehigh Valley community members say the situation inside the Lehigh County Jail is bleak. Activists say COVID-19 conditions are causing harm to inmates and employees. And they plan to make their voices heard this weekend.

State courts told correctional institutions last year to reduce the number of inmates to help fight the spread of COVID-19 inside.

At a public forum with several Lehigh County Commissioners on Jan. 28, they called their working conditions “life-threatening.”

Lehigh County’s fiscal watchdog is advocating for bail reform.

A Harrisburg woman charged in connection with the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has been released from custody with restrictions.

A retired Pennsylvania firefighter has been arrested on suspicion of throwing a fire extinguisher that hit three police officers during the siege at the U.S. Capitol.

A yearlong study conducted by the state Department of Aging, found seniors are conned out of ten million dollars a year in Pennsylvania. And as WLVR’s Megan Frank reports, in many cases the scams come from people they know.

Allentown officials are in the process of creating a public safety review board. The goal is to have a body of citizens look into police matters and make reform recommendations.

As Allentown officials discussed what the future of policing may look like in the city Wednesday night, many people gathered outside council chambers - which were closed to the public.

Allentown City Council met last night to discuss a resolution designed to reform police practices.

Allentown city leaders will go on the record Wednesday evening, about reforming police policies and city council plans to discuss making major changes to law enforcement.

Students across the Lehigh Valley have been speaking out about racial inequalities in schools. And as part of these discussions, students say that they don’t want the police to play a role in their academic future. WLVR’s Genesis Ortega reports.