Crime & Safety

Armed, Drunk Gang Member Tried to Flee from Bethlehem Cops

Pat down led to chase, but Michael Torres is jailed on weapons and drug charges

Bethlehem police arrested a suspected Latin Kings gang member on drugs and weapons charges early Saturday morning after an officer initially spotted him visibly intoxicated on the front porch of a home on Elizabeth Avenue.

Michael Torres, 27, of 547 Main St., Tatamy, tried to run away from police after an officer found a revolver in one of his pockets during a pat down. Torres tried to throw the loaded gun away while he was being chased in the area near Liberty High School. He is now in Northampton County Prison in lieu of $200,000 bail.

It all started a little after 3 a.m. when Bethlehem Officer Nathan Yadlosky noticed Torres swaying back and forth as he stood on a porch at 117 Elizabeth Ave., according to court papers. A few seconds later, Torres was leaning over a partition wall and vomiting.

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Yadlosky decided to check on Torres to see if he needed medical attention. In his arrest affidavit, Yadlosky noted a strong smell of alcohol on Torres, slurred speech and red, glassy eyes. Torres told Yadlosky that he had just walked from Roosevelt’s 21st bar to what he said was his girlfriend’s house. No one was home.

The affidavit gave this account of the events that followed:

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Another city officer, Louis Csaszar, approached and told Torres to remove a hand from his pocket. Csaszar told Yadlosky that he had dealt with Torres before and that Torres had been a member of the Latin Kings street gang. Torres was wearing colored beads that denoted continued membership.

Csaszar then attempted to remove Torres’ hand from his pocket and begin the pat down. That is when Torres fled south down Grenadier Boulevard.

Yadlosky and Csaszar then gave chase. Csaszar told Yadlosky that he had felt a gun in Torres’ pocket. Torres turned right on Locust Street and then took something and threw it in an alley behind 1208 Center St.

That object turned out to be a silver .22-caliber, double action revolver, which was fully loaded with seven bullets, court papers said. Having been convicted previously of felony drug charges, Torres is not permitted to carry a weapon.

Yadlosky caught up with Torres after the suspect stumbled and fell on the street, court papers say. He flailed and resisted, but was ultimately handcuffed and incarcerated.

During a subsequent search, police found 63 packets of heroin tucked inside of two clear plastic bags, which were hidden in a cigarette pack in one of Torres’ pockets.

Torres was charged with illegal possession of a firearm, carrying a firearm without a license, possession and possession with intent to deliver heroin, escape, resisting arrest and public drunkenness.


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