Criminal Justice

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.

Kareem Ali Greene, 40, served more than a decade in state prison after pleading guilty to a March 2007 armed robbery in South Allentown, court records show.

Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott said, “A local ordinance would make it easier for us to seize the dirt bikes after [the riders are] taken into police custody."

Two council members hit back at the mayor Tuesday, saying they have no concerns about the process that led them to hire a former FBI agent to investigate allegations of workplace discrimination and racism.

Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle L. Kott and Mayor J. William Reynolds released a joint statement Monday calling a proposed "welcoming ordinance" regarding federal immigration policies unnecessary in the city.

In a statement released through U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie's office, ICE says Northampton County has a policy of not fully cooperating with the agency, placing agents and the public at risk. County Executive Lamont McClure disagrees.

Alberto Jose Rios-Santiago, 26, was arrested Thursday in Florida and is awaiting extradition, authorities said.

Congressman Ryan Mackenzie has accused Northampton County of not cooperating with ICE, while County Executive Lamont McClure has argued the legislator does not grasp the complexity of the situation.

Easton Police Chief Carl Scalzo spoke out against a proposed "welcoming city" ordinance, saying it could be seen as a beacon for criminal activity in the city and make police officers' jobs more difficult.

An Allentown man was sentenced on Tuesday to 18-to-60 months in state prison in the accidental death of his 3-year-old son, who shot himself with an unattended gun.

Allentown officers responded to BKK Lounge more than two dozen times since July 2023, according to Police Chief Charles Roca. But police did not pass along any complaints about the business to officials in charge of nuisance abatement.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, wants to know how a former Allentown vice officer was hired by the U.S. Center for SafeSport despite sex-crime allegations in his past.

While the arrest of a suspected Venezuelan gang member outside Northampton County Prison in late January was timely, it was not directly tied to President Trump's recent executive orders on illegal immigration.

Pedro Junior Paulino, 35, was charged alongside David Isaiah Rivera, 26, with homicide and attempted homicide after four people were shot Feb. 2 outside BKK Lounge in Allentown.

Easton City Councilwoman Taiba Sultana is making a move to codify pro-immigrant policies just after Allentown's council passed a similar measure days ago.

Pedro Junior Paulino, 35, and David Isaiah Rivera, 26, both of Allentown, face homicide and attempted homicide charges in connection with a fatal shooting Sunday morning.