Criminal Justice

Three unidentified juveniles were charged with criminal mischief in connection with the damages, which cost the city about $47,000.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has used county office space but hasn't paid rent in three years despite a 2022 memorandum of understanding, county officials said. Said Controller Mark Pinsley: "We're going to deport ICE."

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.

A lawsuit filed this week alleges Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom and its parent company failed to protect a minor from a park employee who later pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting her.

Commissioner Zach Cole-Borghi, who faces more than 100 drug-related charges, was in court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.

Marty Nothstein, a former Lehigh County commissioner, had been accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend but admitted to lesser charges Monday. The plea deal came three years after he pleaded guilty to illegally entering the home of a different ex-girlfriend.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan announced more than 100 additional criminal charges Wednesday against County Commissioner Zachary Cole-Borghi.

Lengthy criminal complaints contained more than 150 pages of transcripts of messages allegedly sent between Cole-Borghi and cooperating sources for the prosecution. Those messages show negotiations on the price of drugs, including marijuana/THC products and cocaine, as well as arranging for delivery and purchase.

A school district email said that at 10:20 a.m. Wednesday, "during an administrative search of a student's belongings, school officials discovered a loaded firearm inside a student's school bag."

Commissioner Zachary Cole-Borghi, 35, is among roughly 40 people charged in a multistate drug network. On Tuesday, his defense attorney argued in Lehigh County Court that his case should have a preliminary hearing separate from the others.

Police Chief Charles Roca said he will welcome Sgt. Evan Weaver back to full duty on the city's police force.

State Sen. Jarrett Coleman said the volume of errors makes him uncomfortable with BusPatrol cameras on school buses without changes to how the system operates.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan announced the decision Wednesday after an investigation by Allentown Police Department and Lehigh County Homicide Task Force.

Xiaomin Fei, 34, on Thursday entered the plea in the June 3 shooting deaths of Robert and Gretchen Ackerman, Northampton County District Attorney Stephen G. Baratta announced.

Santos Mota-Ramirez, 61, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of attempted homicide, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, simple assault, arson and causing a catastrophe, District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan said.