Criminal Justice

Daniel Leibensperger, 34, of Emmaus, was charged Dec. 19, the day after after his girlfriend was stabbed, authorities said Tuesday in a news release. Leibensperger's body was found Dec. 26 in Allentown's Jordan Creek.

The body of an unidentified man was discovered Monday in the water of an underground quarry, the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office said.

Donations for 30 residents displaced can be made online or via mail (checks payable to UWGLV, 1110 American Parkway NE, Suite F-120, Allentown 18109 — attention “Cedar Street Fire Fund”).

Flames trapped a woman in the basement of her home, according to charges filed against Santos Mota-Ramirez. Police say he set the fire after trying to fatally stab another woman. The blaze affected seven row homes Thursday night and displaced 30 people.

Neighbors and community leaders responded to a row home fire that spread to other homes on West Cedar Street in Allentown on Thursday night.

Fountain Hill police and the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office charged two men with breaking into the Fountain Hill Pharmacy and opening fire on police, which led to a standoff and lockdown on Christmas Eve.

Two people were wounded in the 300 block of Ridge Avenue. Allentown police were called there as they investigated a separate shooting blocks away in which a 1-year-old and his grandmother were shot to death in their home.

Liz Pacheco, 37, of Allentown, is charged with homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide, aggravated assault-attempting to cause serious bodily injury and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault — all first-degree felonies.

Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta said he acted appropriately when he allowed Northampton County Republican Committee Chair Glenn Geissinger to file a private criminal complaint against four members of his party.

Rasheed Quayle Tisdale was arrested Tuesday by Easton police with the Philadelphia Police Department Homicide Fugitive Task Force and SWAT Team, Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta said in a release.

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.

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.