Criminal Justice

FOP Washington Lodge #17, representing Easton Police Department officers, announced the approval of a new four-year contract with the city, set to be settled with council on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025.

A man was carjacked at gunpoint Thursday after arranging a deal on Facebook Marketplace to sell shoes to two men, according to court documents.

The body of Jesse Rutt, of Walnutport, was discovered at 11:34 p.m. in the area of the Slate Heritage Trail in the 300 block of East Church Street.

Daniel Leibensperger, 34, of Emmaus, was charged Dec. 19, the day after after his girlfriend was stabbed, authorities said Tuesday in a news release. Leibensperger's body was found Dec. 26 in Allentown's Jordan Creek.

The body of an unidentified man was discovered Monday in the water of an underground quarry, the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office said.

Donations for 30 residents displaced can be made online or via mail (checks payable to UWGLV, 1110 American Parkway NE, Suite F-120, Allentown 18109 — attention “Cedar Street Fire Fund”).

Flames trapped a woman in the basement of her home, according to charges filed against Santos Mota-Ramirez. Police say he set the fire after trying to fatally stab another woman. The blaze affected seven row homes Thursday night and displaced 30 people.

Neighbors and community leaders responded to a row home fire that spread to other homes on West Cedar Street in Allentown on Thursday night.

Fountain Hill police and the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office charged two men with breaking into the Fountain Hill Pharmacy and opening fire on police, which led to a standoff and lockdown on Christmas Eve.

Two people were wounded in the 300 block of Ridge Avenue. Allentown police were called there as they investigated a separate shooting blocks away in which a 1-year-old and his grandmother were shot to death in their home.

A 39-year-old woman and 16-year-old girl were found by '"distraught extended family members" in the home off Railroad Street, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

In the wake of a jail escapes in Chester and Warren counties, state Republican lawmakers are planning to introduce a set of bills to improve county jail security, infrastructure and staffing.

District Attorney Jim Martin said that people in the community should delete the video found on social media that shows a child being sexually abused.

Authorities in Pennsylvania said they captured escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante after hunting for him nearly two weeks.

The Connect Lehigh County program will make police aware of where participating private groups and residents have installed security cameras. Police hope this can help them quickly collect video evidence as they investigate crimes.

PA State Police said the department was pursuing Danelo Souza Cavalcante in Chester County and believe he's now armed.

The manhunt for Danelo Cavalcante, a convicted killer who escaped from Chester County Prison, is in its 11th day. Pennsylvania State Police said overnight that Cavalcante was spotted in the Phoenixville area and now is operating a white van.

The police pups will appear at the Petersville Gun and Rod Club's Basket Social on Saturday, Sept. 9.

Sammy Sasso, a state champion wrestler from Nazareth Area High School, was shot Aug. 18 in a carjacking near Ohio State University, where he is a student.

Visitors to an open house on Saturday, Sept. 9, can meet the six equine officers of the Bethlehem Police Department and their partners.

Danelo Cavalcante, who escaped from Chester County Prison last week, has been on the run for six days. He was convicted last month of killing his girlfriend and is extremely dangerous, according to authorities.

Lehigh County officials determined the proposed legislation had more than a dozen problems, making it too problematic to present to Allentown voters. The bill would have dispatched an EMT and mental health professional to certain calls and prohibited other first responders from going.