Criminal Justice

A review of hundreds of decisions made by a powerful state oversight board sheds light on how Pennsylvania counties will be allowed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars from opioid settlements.

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."

The Lehigh County District Attorney's Office on Monday announced the recovery of more than $115,000 to a Salisbury Township man who was scammed during an online real estate transaction earlier this year.

Lehigh Valley Anti-Trafficking Week, a collective effort to address the issue of human trafficking and give voices to survivors, will have a week of events to raise awareness in the local community.

The settlement includes a controversial confidentiality clause, criticized for discouraging reporting. The complainant, who remains anonymous, alleges Vereb made inappropriate comments during her brief tenure.

The crash occurred Thursday morning on Union Boulevard, at Jerome Street, in Allentown. Police say they are continuing to investigate and will release more information once an arrest is made.

The incident occurred following the conclusion of a funeral service, as community members were departing the premises.

The Lehigh County Coroner's Office said an 85-year-old man was the victim in a hit-and-run on Union Boulevard on Allentown's east side. The man died at the scene.

An attempted-homicide charge against Ethan Bastien was upgraded to criminal homicide when Sian Cartagena died days after police allege he shot her.

Sian Cartagena’s death is the 16th homicide in Allentown this year and the second in less than two weeks, according to authorities.

State authorities will investigate the matter, and borough lawyers have been assigned to coordinate in the efforts.

A Northampton County judge handed down a five- to 10-year sentence for Christopher Ferrante, who was convicted of giving drugs to a former Pen Argyl wrestler shortly before his overdose death.

Pennsylvania State Police provided an inventory of items seized from the Railroad Street house where the bodies of 39-year-old Rosalyn Glass and her 16-year-old daughter Rianna were found Sept. 14.

A Berks County man convicted of homicide by vehicle in a fatal crash more than two years ago in Upper Macungie Township has been sentenced to 6 to 15 years in prison.