Crime & Safety
Police: Slap Nearly Caused Woman to Drop Baby
City man faces child endangerment charges after he allegedly slapped his girlfriend, nearly causing her to drop her baby, police say.
A day before he was to start a job at an area supermarket, a Bethlehem man slapped his girlfriend in the face while she held their 1-month-old son. The slapping caused her to nearly drop the infant, court records say.
It appeared the suspect, Jose Lucas Jr., 25, wouldn’t be able to start the job at a Giant supermarket because he was committed to Northampton County Prison early Friday. The records, in a reference to the job at Giant, say “starting work at Giant on Sat.”
Meanwhile, a woman who witnessed the incident on the 1200 block of Randolf Road in Marvine-Pembroke told police she had to grab the baby after the slapping because the girlfriend nearly dropped him. The infant had a minor scratch near his right eye as a result of the incident, the records say.
The records also say:
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- The girlfriend told police when they arrived around 12:05am Friday that Lucas fled on foot south on Randolf and was wearing a white T-shirt, jeans and orange sneakers. The records list him as being 5-feet 5-inches tall and weighing 175 pounds.
- An officer spotted a man fitting the description walking west on Pembroke Road near the Gulf station. The officer also noticed a dark-colored Honda sitting at the gas station.
- Another officer saw a man get into the Honda. The officer recognized the driver as Jose Lucas Sr. The records do not say if the senior Lucas is the suspect’s father.
- The officer made a traffic stop at Pembroke and Stefko Blvd. He said Lucas Sr. was the driver and Lucas Jr. was the front passenger.
- Meanwhile, the girlfriend told police she and Lucas Jr. continued to “tussle” after the other woman grabbed the infant. She had a minor lip laceration caused when she bit her lip during the slapping. She refused medical treatment for herself and her son.
Lucas Jr., of 1322 E. Sixth St., was arraigned at 3am Friday by on-duty District Judge Douglas Schlegel of Wind Gap on charges of endangering the welfare of children and harassment. He was committed to prison after failing to post $5,000 bail.
