Criminal Justice

Jorge Suarez-Santiago, 33, was sentenced to 5-to-15 years in prison in the drug-induced death of his 22-month-old son.

A man whose body was found in a field near Salisbury Elementary School on Friday morning has been identified.

ICE has confirmed the arrest of a suspected murderer from Honduras, Yobani Bonilla-Bonilla, aka, Gilberto Perez-Alvarado, in Easton in June 2025.

Police are investigating after a 37-year-old man was found dead on the 1400 block of Gaskill Avenue in Salisbury Township.

Sammy Sasso, a former Nazareth Area High School state wrestling champion, is charged with possessing unlicensed guns and a controlled substance after police said they stopped the car he was driving because of an expired registration.

Witness said Jose Vladimir Jerez, 24, of Allentown, was driving erratically while trying to pass another car when he crashed his car into a utility pole in October. A 20-year-old passenger, Ezequiel Hernandez-Cartagena, died less than 90 minutes later.

A former Easton Area High School resource officer who pleaded guilty to sending a sexually explicit image of himself to a 16-year-old female student in 2024 was sentenced to 9-to-24 months in Northampton County Prison, it was announced on Wednesday.

Said Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott, “It’s not used for enforcement. It’s just a means, similar to the news media, of being able to bring up that camera and check the traffic conditions, or if there's an accident, it could be utilized for investigative purposes.”

Angel Martinez-Velez, 25, of Allentown, was shot and killed June 1, 2024, on the basketball court at Allentown's Fountain Park.

Allentown police were called just before 2 a.m. Sunday to a home in the 100 block of Pine Street, where officers found a girl suffering from a gunshot wound to the face, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office.

The changes, introduced at a county council committee meeting Wednesday, would eliminate some youth care worker positions at the county's juvenile justice center, and create new assistant supervisor roles.

Members of the Allentown Police Department gathered Wednesday to celebrate lifesaving efforts and actions of merit and heroism. The idea was to recognize those law enforcement officers who went above and beyond their call of duty.

A grand jury has indicted a man who was already charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, allowing prosecutors to skip a planned week-long preliminary hearing that was set for late June.

Primary candidates for Northampton County judge, Republican Nancy Aaroe and Democrat Brian Panella, secured their parties' nominations and will face off for the seat in November.

Gavin Holihan, the uncontested candidate for Lehigh County district attorney, has been endorsed by incumbent Republican Jim Martin and Democratic County Executive Phil Armstrong, among others.

Eric Schwab was arrested Monday on forgery charges. He's now facing additional charges brought forward Thursday by Northampton County DA Terry Houck.

Senior Judge Thomas Munley would not agree Monday to let police officer Johnathan Miklich regain his firearms if he's not cleared to work. Miklich is under investigation after his wife and ex-girlfriend sought protection-from-abuse orders in Northampton County Court.

Lehigh used its HawkWatch alert system Sunday to inform the campus community of events as they were happening.

Lehigh County Coroner Daniel A. Buglio is working to determine the identity of skeletal remains discovered by hikers in Canal Park in Allentown in April 1991. Forensic analysis has shown the remains to be an African-American male, aged 25-35 at time of death, who grew up in the South.

Stephen Baratta spent more than $115,000 in his bid for Northampton County district attorney, not including in-kind contributions of nearly $50,000. Incumbent Terry Houck raised nearly $100,000, according to campaign finance reports.

Allentown police said they tried to stop the group of off-road vehicles near Fourth and Gordon streets on April 27.

A proposal to establish a one-year pilot program for EMTs and mental health specialists to respond to some 911 calls could be on November ballots if the Allentown City Council doesn't approve it.