Crime & Safety
SouthSide Woman Was Wanted for Philly Larceny
Angela Gara was picked up Monday by Easton police after a suspected carjacking; charged as a 'fugitive from justice' in Philadelphia auto theft.
A Bethlehem woman who was stopped after a reported carjacking early Monday in Easton is wanted on a warrant out of Philadelphia, court records say.
The records do not indicate that Angela M. Gara, 50, who lives on the 200 block of Broadway, was charged with the suspected carjacking outside the Latino Heat nightclub on Northampton Street.
But she was charged as a fugitive from justice in the Philadelphia case and is facing other charges in connection with the Easton incident, including possession of drug paraphernalia, false identification to law enforcement authorities, careless driving and driving without a valid license.
Regarding the false identification charge, the records say she provided police with “multiple different names and combinations of names.” One of them was Argelia Rivera-Galletti.
The records for the Easton case say she is wanted on a warrant for “larceny” out of Philadelphia. Online records say she was arraigned Dec. 6 in Philadelphia on charges of theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
Her case in Philadelphia is listed as “inactive.”
In the Easton case, a criminal complaint filed by Patrolman Timothy Wagner says he responded to a report of a “carjacking by knifepoint” shortly after 2am Monday at the Latino Heat. The car was a black 2003 Saturn Ion four-door with New Jersey license plates.
Wagner spotted the car speeding and going west on the 200 block of Northampton. It went around Centre Square and continued west on Northampton, pulling over on the 400 block. He notes that the car was “swerving erratically.”
A woman later identified as Gara was in the driver’s seat. Once she got out, Wagner saw a clear glass cylinder with burnt ends and copper meshing packed into one end of the driver’s seat. He recognized the item as something “commonly used” for smoking crack cocaine.
Wagner spoke to the car’s owner, who confirmed the Saturn had been taken. Meanwhile, authorities could not positively identify Gara because of the different names she provided.
The officer eventually took her to Northampton County Prison, where a “live scan” identified her and linked her to the Philadelphia warrant.
Gara was arraigned later Monday morning by on-duty District Judge Jackie Taschner of Palmer Township. Taschner set bail of $100,000 on the fugitive-from-justice charge and $7,500 on the other charges. She committed Gara to county prison.
