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.

Nicole Ann Stauffer, 47, of Bethlehem, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in her 2-year-old son's death in July 2022 She was sentenced Wednesday in Northampton County Court to 21 to 120 months in state prison.

In a span of about 20 minutes, Emmaus Borough Council thanked retiring Fire Chief John H. Price — he's been involved in fire service for 47 years — and swore in new police officer Matthew James Hutchins.

Lehigh County Coroner Dan Buglio says a new post-mortem CT scanner should be up and running in 4 to 8 weeks.

William Arthur Strunk of Stroudsburg entered the plea Friday before Judge Paula A. Roscioli, Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta said in a release Monday.

Allentown police are investigating the incident that they say occurred early Saturday night after they were called to the 1100 block of Fullerton Avenue.

Jason Krasley was a member of the Allentown Police Department's Vice Unit in May 2019 when $5,500 was taken during a search at a Hamilton Street barbershop.

Lehigh County Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday to seek state funding to study whether several municipal police departments in the county should be combined.

Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott said methamphetamine is “a real issue” around the city and beyond.

Ongoing investigations are happening, according to the Northampton Co. D.A., into smoke shops selling THC products with misleading or untrue labels.

Lehigh County Clerk of Elections Tim Benyo said his office contacted law enforcement after determining an organization turned in hundreds of faulty voter registration applications.

That hearing is set to be the first scene in what could be an ugly legal saga between Allentown officials.

Two Allentown officers alleged they faced retaliation after trying to report their colleagues to superiors.