Crime News

Burglars Tried to Get In, Residents Held Door Shut, Police Say

Would-be burglars also shut power, cut phone wires in burglary attempt that was thwarted by residents, police say. Three men charged.

  An attempted burglary at a Lower Saucon Township home early Sunday morning was thwarted by people inside who held a door and a window shut as would-be intruders tried to kick the door down, police said. The would-be invaders shut off electricity and cut telephone wires to the house at 1767 Rail Road Lane, according to court papers. But the victims were still able to call police, provide a description of the pickup truck they drove away in and the identities of two of the three alleged intruders, police said. Arrested were Paul Ryan Ortiz, 23, of 849 Rockland St., Bethlehem, and Drew W. Evans, 27, and Kyle R. Evans, 25, both of 1604 Knollwood Road, Lower Saucon Township. Drew Evans did not surrender to police willingly after the vehicle …

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Crime News

SouthSide Man Was Wanted in N.Y. Burglary: Police

Suspect in upstate New York burglary was at Bethlehem police headquarters when out-of-state warrant came to light.

Bethlehem police Tuesday afternoon arrested a SouthSide man wanted for a March burglary in upstate New York in a case that also may have involved a stabbing. A warrant out of Endicott, N.Y., says Pedro Garcia-Ayala, 36, used a “sharp-edged instrument” on two people, causing “multiple physical injuries.” The warrant describes the incident as a burglary in the first degree, adding that Garcia-Ayala “entered a dwelling with the intent to commit assault.” A March 27 story on the website of the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports that a man and woman were injured in a stabbing around 3 a.m. on that day at 1701 Watson Blvd. in Endicott, which is west of Binghamton. In Bethlehem, Det. Sean Molony writes in a criminal complaint that Garcia-…

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Crime News

Contractor Found Stolen Tools on Craigslist: Police

Officer went undercover to meet with Craigslist advertiser, recovering tools that had been stolen from SouthSide work site, according to court papers.

  A contractor who had his tools stolen from a South Bethlehem work site last week found them for sale on Craigslist, Bethlehem police said. On Wednesday, an alleged thief was arrested after an officer posing as a potential buyer confirmed that the tools for sale were the same that had been stolen. Angel Manuel Silva, 21, of 329 Church St., Catasauqua, was charged with burglary, theft and other related counts. According to court papers, the contractor found that his tools—a $300 miter saw, a $100 air compressor, a $150 table saw and a $120 nail gun—had been stolen from a house at 506 Sioux St. on the morning of March 27. The contractor, who was performing renovations on the home, told police that he found a Craigslist ad describing similar…

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Crime News

Mother Drove Teen Daughter's Getaway Car: Police

34-year-old Catasauqua woman with a history of theft arrests is charged with driving her 15-year-old daughter and her son's girlfriend to South Bethlehem to steal copper pipes.

  A Catasauqua woman is accused of driving her 15-year-old daughter and her son’s girlfriend to South Bethlehem to cut copper pipes out of an old Victorian house at 418 Broadway in June. Esmeralda Walker, 34, of 510 Poplar St., Catasauqua, was arrested Wednesday in connection with the crime, which caused $50,000 in damage to the building because one of the pipes cut during the burglary caused a fuel oil spill in the basement, Bethlehem police said in the arrest affidavit. The burglary occurred between 10 p.m. June 6 and 10:30 a.m. June 7. Fingerprints from Robin Fuglio of 2242 Dorothy Way, Alentown, were recovered from a piece of broken glass recovered from the burglary entry point, according to the arrest affidavit. The affidavit also …

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Crime News

Bethlehem Man Charged in Pen Argyl Break-In

Suspect allegedly grabbed a claw hammer and smashed TV and wall, then threatened to come back with his "Bloods" and shoot up house, police say.

  Two days before Christmas, a Bethlehem man -- being driven in a black Lexus and accompanied by a 17-year-old girl -- broke into a Pen Argyl home, found a claw hammer and smashed a flat-screen television and a wall, police say. Later that day, he told the home’s resident via cell phone, “I’m coming down with my Bloods and shoot up your house,” according to court records. As to the motive for the alleged incident, a witness told police he heard the girl “shouting about money that was owed her,” the records say. That money -- $50 – apparently was owed not by the resident but by his friend. Abdiel Ruiz-Roque, 20, of 1338 Eastwood Road in Marvine-Pembroke, was arraigned early Friday on charges of burglary, intimidation of witnesses or victims…

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Crime News

Accused Burglar Wanted Cash to Bail Out Boyfriend

Bethlehem woman charged with stealing thousands of dollars in cash, jewelry and a television from a friend. She may have wanted money to bail boyfriend out of prison, police say.

  A Bethlehem woman accused of breaking into her friend’s home and taking $2,500 in cash and $4,800 in items that included jewelry and a 60-inch television may have had a reason for her alleged action: She wanted to bail out her boyfriend from prison, according to court records. At least that was the theory put forth by the burglary victim when she got home from work Wednesday and discovered the money and items missing from her home on the 1300 block of Eastwood Road in Marvine-Pembroke. Police acted on the victim’s boyfriend-in-prison theory and discovered she was right. Court records say the burglary suspect – Natasha Lee Ortiz, 24 – had told Northampton County officials earlier Wednesday she would be at the prison after 7pm to bail out …

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Bob Zahm

4:50 pm on Friday, January 25, 2013

Oh how right you are. I got caught on "the victim’s boyfriend-in-prison theory". But given that a "friend" was robbing another friend, it must still be a super sweet neighborhood in which to live.   more ›

Crime News

2 Men Charged in Attempted Dellwood St. Burglary

Occupant was home when 2 men and a juvenile tried to break into a house, Bethlehem police say.

  Bethlehem police say two men enlisted a juvenile to help them break into a woman's home Wednesday night. Darren Akhir Linton, 22, and Tauren Lawson, 30, were charged with burglary following what police said was an attempted break-in on the 600 block of Dellwood Street. According to court records, police responded to the home when the occupant called and said three men had tried to break in. The officer who responded found three people in the back of the property: Linton, Lawson, and a juvenile listed as "JT." Police said Lawson admitted they had planned to break into the house, and that he had a pry bar and screwdriver. Lawson -- who is homeless -- and Linton -- of 611 Maple St. -- were both arraigned before District Judge Richard Yetter…

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Burglar in Bethlehem Takes $2,600 in Gaming Consoles, Computers

Bethlehem Police report computers and consoles were taken in one burglary and a laptop stolen in another.

About $2,600 in gaming consoles and computers were taken after someone broke into an apartment at 1165 Livingston St. in Bethlehem, police say. The burglary took place between 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5 and 9:45 a.m. Friday, Dec. 7, according to city police. The burglar reportedly forced an entry through a front first-floor window.  In another burglary, a laptop valued at $1,000 was taken from Fasnacht student housing at 511 Fillmore St. sometime between 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7 and 1 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 8., police reported. 

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Crime News

Owner of Burglarized Home Faces Drug Charges

Marijuana blunt allegedly found on the floor of burglarized South Bethlehem home leads to charges for homeowner.

  An investigation into a burglary at a South Bethlehem home led police to charging the homeowner with felony drug possession, according to court papers. Bethlehem police were called to the home of William L. Reed, 40, of 1222 Railroad St., about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a burglary in progress. But while investigating the incident, officers found a suspected marijuana cigar in plain site on the floor, according to the arrest warrant. After getting Reed’s permission to continue a search, police found several U.S. Postal Service boxes containing “a large amount of suspected marijuana,” several sandwich bags containing suspected marijuana seeds, a digital scale and a box of sandwich bags, the affidavit of probable cause says. Reed …

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Crime News

John Doe of Bethlehem Charged with Burglary

Identity of jailed burglary suspect remains a mystery, so for now the courts call him John Doe.

  Officially, the court record says John Doe of Bethlehem has been charged with burglary. Doe, who according to the record is also known as Jose Varela, 25, of 336 Buchanan St., allegedly tried to break into his ex-girlfriend’s SouthSide home at 118 W. Graham Place between 11:30 and 11:39 a.m. Tuesday, according to an arrest affidavit. The statement of probable causse says the suspect was caught in the act by Officer Michael Leaser, a member of the Bethlehem Police Department Mounted Patrol Unit, who was dispatched to the scene after a call from the home’s occupant. In his report, Leaser wrote that he saw the defendant leave the scene, but was unable to make contact with him before he fled east. An outer plexi-glass window was cracked and …

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