Man 'Wildly' Swung Knife at Co-Worker: Police

A man arriving for work on College Hill in Easton early on a Monday morning last June was greeted by a co-worker “wildly” swinging a serrated knife and “attempting to seriously injure him,” court records say.

On Sunday night, about 10 months after the alleged incident, a 57-year-old Bethlehem man was charged with being the one who swung the knife.

The records do not say how Easton police found the man who has been charged, Adalberto Morrell. But they do say that police spoke by phone with Morrell, apparently not long after the alleged incident at 512 March St. He refused to meet with police and provide a statement, the records say.

A criminal complaint filed by Easton Patrolman Charles M. McMonagle says the incident occurred around 6:25 a.m. June 4, 2012. McMonagle said the incident was the result of a “verbal altercation” between Morrell and the co-worker.

The co-worker told the officer he arrived for work and was on the fourth floor when Morrell pulled the serrated knife and began swinging at him. The complaint does not say what kind of business is at the March Street address.

The co-worker and another man who said he witnessed the alleged incident went to Easton police headquarters to give written statements, says the complaint, which was approved a day later.

Morrell, of the 2100 block of Florence Avenue in west Bethlehem just east of the Allentown line, was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

He was arraigned by on-duty District Judge Jackie Taschner of Palmer Township and committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail.