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.

A motorcade of 40 dirt bikes and ATVs ignored traffic laws and endangered others last year. They also delayed an injured Allentown detective from getting medical treatment. Only one driver, a Pen Argyl man, has been identified and charged.

Allentown police are investigating a homicide after a 38-year-old Allentown man died days after he was assaulted, according to the Lehigh County coroner.

It happened a little before 7 p.m. Wednesday at Easton Avenue and Beech Street in Bethlehem.

Clement Swaby was sentenced to up to 150 years in prison in the 2020 rape of a Lehigh University student, plus subsequent break-ins and attempted sexual assaults in Easton.

The three students placed in the C-Span StudentCam contest for their short documentary.

Lehigh County Judge Thomas Capehart denied the appeal of Patrick Palmer, who argued election staff should accept his paperwork because he paid a filing fee on time.

Patrick Palmer, an Allentown School Board director, argued in Lehigh County Court he should not be denied a spot on the primary ballot. County officials ruled he missed the March 7 filing deadline by a matter of seconds.

As a spike in antisemitic incidents continues nationally, the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley hosted a summit in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League to try to fight back and push for solutions. Both incidents and instances of propaganda are increasing, officials say

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s nominees for attorney general and state police commissioner received unanimous approval from the Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate.

Lehigh Valley Health Network was victimized in a cybersecurity attack last month. The network said it refused to pay a ransom. Now, patient information and photos have been posted on the dark web, according to LVHN.

The force, made up of municipal, county and federal investigators, is designed to fight the sexual exploitation of children in the county, along with human trafficking more broadly.

Take a look at stories throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact or that you might want to look at again.