ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown employee facing charges she placed a noose on her own desk in City Hall made her first court appearance Tuesday.
LaTarsha Brown waived a preliminary hearing on charges of making false reports and tampering with or fabricating evidence, court records show.
A judge ordered the charges against LaTarsha Brown be sent to Lehigh County Court for trial or plea. Brown is due back in court in mid-June for a formal arraignment.Lehigh County Court proceedings
A judge ordered the charges against her be sent to Lehigh County Court for trial or plea.
Brown is due back in court in mid-June for a formal arraignment.
Brown reported finding a noose Jan. 10 on her desk in the city’s Department of Community and Economic Development.
That sparked a protest Jan. 13 outside City Hall and calls for a federal investigation into what some called a hate crime.
The FBI joined the investigation the same day and an agent spoke to Brown that week, when she declined to provide a DNA sample, according to charging documents.
All other employees agreed to provide DNA samples during interviews with police, Allentown Capt. Steve Milkovits said at a news conference March 24 announcing charges against Brown.
Authorities collected Brown’s DNA after obtaining a search warrant.
State Police matched her sample to DNA collected from the noose, Milkovits said last month.
Case background
A report from the PSP Forensic DNA Division found Brown's DNA profile matched samples from the outer surfaces of the noose and inner knotted areas, he said.
Authorities released a photo of the noose, which appears to be just a few inches long and resting atop a closed laptop on Brown's desk.
Brown, who also is an Allentown School Board member, told police in January that she picked up the item after she didn’t immediately recognize it as a noose.
Her term on the school board ends this year. Brown did not file paperwork to seek re-election.
Brown emailed her supervisors a day before the noose was found to ask for a mediation meeting about her complaints of discrimination against a coworker, court documents state.
She sent another email after finding the noose in which she told city officials she was “at a breaking point,” according to court records.
Brown's attorney, Michael Walker, did not immediately respond Tuesday to LehighValleyNews.com.
