Criminal Justice

A county judge heard arguments Friday for and against releasing the two pages from a sealed grand jury presentment that deals with the drug-charge allegations against Lehigh County Commissioner Zach Cole-Borghi, of Bethlehem.

Lehigh County prosecutors tried to avoid the standard procedures for criminal court by bypassing defendants' preliminary hearings. Instead, Lehigh County Judge Thomas Caffrey ruled the cases should proceed Friday morning as scheduled.

Former Forks Township Police Chief Michael Friel announced his retirement in December. Township supervisors approved a separation agreement but refused to disclose it until a Right-to-Know request was filed.

Grelvis Estevez Cabrera, 29, received the mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder in the killing of 25-year-old Angel Martinez-Velez in June 2024 in Allentown.

Catasauqua Borough Police are leading the investigation, with assistance from the State Police Forensics Services Unit and the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office.

A Lehigh County judge has denied an appeal that sought to clear the way for Nexus 78, a 501,000-square-foot warehouse proposed for North Whitehall Township. The ruling is unlikely to be the last word in the fight over the warehouse's fate.

An investigation is underway into a non-fatal police shooting that occurred Sunday at the former Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital in Allentown, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office.

The Bethlehem Police Department is giving kudos to one of its officers, who went beyond simply making a report when he responded to a call for a burglary.

The victim, 29-year-old Rigiberto Hernandez Arias of Allentown, died Nov. 21 after being run over near Emaus Avenue and South Fourth Street in Allentown. An Amazon delivery driver, 30-year-old Troy Johnson, is in Lehigh County Jail on $500,000 bail.

Kirk Chin Jr., 37, of Pottstown, Montgomery County, is charged with misdemeanor charges of recklessly endangering another person and reckless driving.

The case against Matthew Wolfe relied heavily on the expert testimony of Dr. Debra Esernio-Jenssen, the former Lehigh Valley Health Network physician being sued for alleged medical child abuse misdiagnoses. With her credibility under scrutiny, prosecutors agreed to cut years off Wolf's sentence.

Tracy and Joshua Dechant, charged with attempting to starve their teen sons to death, have 60 days to find a defense lawyer, a judge said.

John Derwin Bradley of Schnecksville was sentenced Thursday for the 2023 murder of a North Catasauqua mother and daughter and the aggravated assault of a juvenile who was seriously injured in a car crash after Bradley fled the scene with her in the vehicle.

Officials said having Argon around helps keep passengers at ease and safe from potential danger, while also serving as an asset upon request for other area authorities.

State Police, municipal police officers and members of the Lehigh County Sheriff’s Office took part in virtual reality training at the Jane Scheller-Wayne Woodman Community Service Center at Lehigh Carbon Community College on Wednesday.

City officials last week were not able to comment if other city employees were currently subjects of the investigation following the arrest of Zachary Cole-Borghi.

A Lehigh County judge will soon decide whether to throw out potentially key evidence in the prosecution of a former Parkland High School administrator.

Police say evidence of a shooting was at 11th and Church Streets, and three teenage males wearing dark clothing and black masks fled from the location.

Asa the horse, a beloved member of Bethlehem Mounted Unit, will hang up his horseshoes and step into the easy life at his final Bridles & Badges Open House event.

Parkland High School teachers reported suspected misconduct by ex-performing arts administrator Frank Anonia more than a decade before his arrest on charges of secretly recording a student in a dressing room, a former teacher testified. Anonia is due in court for a criminal trial this week.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan said Zach Cole-Borghi was one of 22 people taken into custody Thursday as part of an ongoing grand jury investigation. Cole-Borghi was arrested Thursday at his job at Bethlehem City Hall. A city official today said he is no longer employed by the city.

State prosecutors took over four cases against former Allentown officer Jason Krasley. The Lehigh County District Attorney's Office will continue prosecuting Krasley on charges related to a 2019 theft.