Criminal Justice

The U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the scope of an anti-bribery law used to send former Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski to federal prison. But Scott Curtis, the former FBI agent who led the investigation, said the ruling shouldn't be of much help to Pawlowski's appeals.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan released body-camera footage Friday from a June 22 arrest that led to claims of excessive force by Allentown cops.

A review of hundreds of decisions made by a powerful state oversight board sheds light on how Pennsylvania counties will be allowed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars from opioid settlements.

Allentown City Council members are preparing for potential litigation against the mayor for putting "roadblocks" in the way of an investigation into allegations of workplace discrimination and racism.

Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley held its inaugural State of PNLV address on Tuesday at the Renaissance Hotel in Allentown.

A Lehigh University student was found to have forged documents to get into the school. He will now be deported after authorities investigated his admission of the scheme on Reddit, they said.

A video recording shows an Allentown police officer delivering seven blows to 29-year-old Michael Iucolino’s leg as three other officers surrounded him on the ground. He was then shocked with a Taser. Police said Iucolino "continued to be an assailant throughout the entire encounter."

Officers called to a shooting in Bethlehem found a man with a gunshot wound to the body. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital in critical condition, police said.

Joshua Ortiz, 28, of Allentown, had pleaded guilty April 22 to attempted murder — a first-degree felony — in the June 4, 2023, incident in the parking lot of AutoZone, 1871 S. Fifth St., Allentown.

Allentown authorities have released the names and images of two individuals suspected of being involved in the shooting of an 11-year-old boy on June 13. 2024, and are asking for help finding the pair.

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.

Yunior Peralta-Quintana, 23, of Allentown, was convicted Friday by a Lehigh County Court jury after a four-day trial before Judge Anna-Kristie M. Marks.

Amazon driver Troy Johnson, 30, of Philadelphia, also was ordered to face court on a felony count of accidents involving death and misdemeanor counts of involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person.

The Lehigh County Coroner's Office said the 27-year-old died Saturday night at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest — hours after being shot during a standoff with Pennsylvania State Police in a North Whitehall Township driveway.