ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Two people, including a teen, were arrested Thursday after an armed carjacking in the city's west end, authorities said.
Jayden Rivera, 23, of Bethlehem, was charged with robbery, robbery of a motor vehicle, criminal conspiracy, theft, receiving stolen property and evading arrest.
Sixteen-year-old Allentown resident Melvyn Houpe was charged as an adult with robbery, robbery of a motor vehicle, criminal conspiracy, theft, receiving stolen property, firearms not to be carried without a license, person not to possess, firearm possession by a minor and evading arrest, court documents show.
Police responded around 4:15 p.m. to the area of North 14th and West Turner streets, where a man reported he was carjacked at gunpoint, according to court documents.
The man said he met two men after arranging a deal on Facebook Marketplace to sell them shoes, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed against Rivera.
Rivera and Houpe got in the man’s car and told him to drive down a small alley, where Houpe pulled out a handgun “and put it to the victim’s head,” court documents state.
Houpe “then told the victim to give them everything or he will be shot,” police said in court documents.
Rivera and Houpe took the man’s phone, wallet and shoes and forced him out of his car, according to charging documents.
About a half hour later, Allentown officers located the man’s stolen vehicle and chased it, court documents state.
Rivera and Houpe eventually got out of the vehicle and ran from police before they were arrested. Houpe was arrested after he was found on the roof of a building, charging documents state.
Police found a handgun loaded with 15 rounds, including one in the chamber, on Rivera, according to court documents.
Houpe was arraigned Thursday and committed to Lehigh County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail; Rivera was arraigned Friday and jailed on $50,000 bail, court records show.
