- A Bethlehem Police Department officer and his furry partner are credited with assisting in the arrest of a Bethlehem man with multiple warrants
- The arrest came after an hours-long standoff in West Bethlehem on Wednesday
- Brian George Lichtenwalner, 31, of Bethlehem, was arrested just before 7 p.m.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A wanted man was taken into custody Wednesday following a nearly nine-hour encounter with police in West Bethlehem, and a K-9 officer is getting a shoutout for his role in finding the accused.
K-9 Rico and his partner, Officer Matthew Steidel, tagged along with the department’s Emergency Response Team to enter the house in the 200 block of 11th Avenue and search for Brian George Lichtenwalner, 31, of Bethlehem, police said.
After police served a search warrant, Rico found Lichtenwalner in a third-floor closet, police said.
“Even though the subject hid in an upstairs closet, K-9 Rico was able to track him and alert officers as to what room the subject was hiding in."Bethlehem Police Department Facebook
“Even though the subject hid in an upstairs closet, K9 Rico was able to track him and alert officers as to what room the subject was hiding in,” the department wrote Thursday in a Facebook post.
K-9 Rico is an 8-year-old Dutch Shepard, according to the Facebook page.
Lichtenwalner resisted arrest and taken into custody just before 7 p.m.
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Police tried throughout the late morning and afternoon to contact him from outside and inside the house.
Lichtenwalner had a number of warrants out for his arrest, including some for failure to appear in Monroe County after charges related to disarming an officer, as well as others for drug possession inside a prison and DUI-related violations.
“Lichtenwalner will be housed at Lehigh County Jail pending extradition by Monroe County authorities on the arrest warrants,” the department wrote in a media release.
“Additional charges are expected relating to the standoff with police on today’s date.”
On the scene
Calypso Elementary School is just around the corner from where the standoff took place.
Bethlehem Police Capt. Nicholas Lechman said school operations weren’t affected by the situation, but additional security was sent over during its dismissal.
All the while, parents walked their children home from school, hand-in-hand. Buses also made their drop-offs along nearby West Lehigh Street.
Lechman told LehighValleyNews.com just after 4 p.m. that personnel had the situation under control, contained to the residence and the surrounding block secured.
Responding personnel included Bethlehem Police its emergency response team along and a Lehigh County drone team, according to Lechman.
All the while, parents walked their children home from school, hand-in-hand. Buses also made their drop-offs along nearby West Lehigh Street.
Neighbors debated what the situation was about, but authorities on site wouldn't share much information. One woman said she needed to get to her home along 11th Avenue, so an officer walked with her.
