Crime News

Major Meth Stash Found in Wall Safe: Police

Bethlehem Township police find drugs, paraphernalia in safe while executing a search warrant at Second Street home, according to court papers.

  Bethlehem Township police found a stash of methamphetamine hidden in the safe of a Second Street home where they executed a search warrant on Friday, according to court records. Thomas Eugene Lenner, 35, who lives in the house at 1822 Second St., was charged with felony possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine and other drug charges. Township police executed the search warrant at Lenner’s home at 6:20 a.m. Friday, though the affidavit of probable cause does not explain what led to the warrant issue. The safe where the drugs were found was hidden in a wall behind a mirror in a second-floor bedroom, the affidavit said. In the safe, according to the affidavit, police found a quantity of methamphetamine, along with two foil strips …

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Crime News

Meth Container May Have Caused Illness, Police Say

Sanitation worker felt sick after a suspected methamphetamine container fell out of trash on E. Fairview Street, Bethlehem police say.

  A sanitation worker felt ill Wednesday morning after handling what Bethlehem police suspect may have been a container that was used to produce methamphetamine. The worker was collecting garbage on the 100 block of E. Fairview Street—just blocks from Liberty High School—at about 11:40 a.m. when the suspicious container fell out, said Bethlehem Police Chief Jason Schiffer. The worker said he felt ill and drove himself to an area hospital for treatment, the chief said. The incident is under investigation and there is no threat to the public, Schiffer added. A hazardous materials team was called to the scene to handle disposal of the container, according to The Morning Call. There has been a seeming epidemic of methamphetamine related crimes…

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Crime News

Woman Charged with Trying to Hit Ex with Car

Arrest affidavit describes wild scene in which West Side woman allegedly chased ex-boyfriend's pickup truck through city streets, ramming it several times with her Buick Regal.

  A West Bethlehem woman will be spending at least part of her holiday season in jail after she was arrested Friday for allegedly trying to run down her ex-boyfriend with her car, according to court papers. Christine M. Fondl, 50, of 2024 Vista Drive, allegedly made the assault on ex-boyfriend John Zettlemoyer on the 400 block of E. North Street on Aug. 7. It was unclear from the court records why she was not arrested until Friday. The affidavit of probable cause describes a wild scene during which Fondl chased Zettlemoyer through the streets of the city on that August morning, several times ramming the back of his Toyota Tundra pickup truck with her red Buick Regal. At one point during the chase, the affidavit says, Fondl called 911 to …

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Bethlehem Police Warn of Meth Gas Generators

A Bethlehem resident found methamphetamine gas generators on the West Side. Police caution the public not to touch such finds.

A Bethlehem resident discovered HCL Gas Generators or "Gassing Generators" used in the production of methamphetamine on the City's West Side, police reported. City police released a photo of the makeshift generators on their blog with the instructions that if anyone finds such a bottle, they should leave them where they found them and try to make sure no one else comes in contact with them. Police said they should call 911 or 610-865-7187 immediately and officers will respond. When someone is making methamphetamine, Hydrogen Chloride gas is produced in the process. After the bottles are used, they still contain some liquid and gray/white sludge inside, police said. The acid in the generators can burn skin and the gas might burn a person's …

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Crime News

Meth Sold to Police Informant in Bethlehem Township

Pennsylvania Attorney General charges a Moore Township woman and a male accomplice with selling 3.5 grams of methamphetamine.

  A Moore Township woman and a male accomplice have been arrested and charged with selling methamphetamine to a confidential police informant in Bethlehem Township, according to court papers filed by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office. Jamie Lynn Kinghorn, 36, of 255 Nazareth Drive, and Nicholas Strohl, 26, who has no current address, are both facing three felony drug counts as a result of the alleged $650 sale of 3.5 grams of meth. The meeting between the suspects and the confidential informant took place on Nov. 21 at a township location that was not divulged in the arrest affidavit. The arrest was made by Thomas Sedor, a former Allentown police detective and a sworn narcotics agent for the Attorney General Bureau of Narcotics …

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Crime News

Police: Suspicious UPS Package had Methamphetamine

Allentown man who picked up UPS package containing suspected methamphetamine is facing drug charges, according to court records.

  A package with green plastic wrap and a white, crystal-like substance inside caught the eye of a UPS employee in Bethlehem Township Thursday. The employee tipped off police, a man picked up the package Friday morning at the shipping company, and police arrested him at his parked vehicle outside the office at 2301 Highland Ave. The package contained two pounds of the drug methamphetamine, court records say. The records did not give the drug’s value. The suspect, Jorge Rosario Aquino, 40, of 808 N. 6th St., Allentown, was charged with possession with intent to deliver – a felony – and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Participating in the bust were state police Cpl. J.M. Casciano and Bethlehem Township police investigator …

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Crime News

Loaded, Unlicensed Handgun Carried into Casino

Dropped cigarette pack filled with methamphetamine led state police to arrest Northampton man who carried concealed weapon into Sands Bethlehem Casino.

  A dropped cigarette pack led police inside the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem early Wednesday to arrest a man carrying a loaded .380 semi-automatic handgun without a license. He had it in his right rear pants pocket, court records say. The man also was allegedly carrying a quantity of methamphetamine. Carl Raymond Heckman, 44, of Northampton informed police he was carrying the gun when they took him into custody for the suspected drug possession, the records say. Police did not know beforehand that he was carrying the gun. Heckman told police he thought he had a permit to carry the gun, but then admitted it may have expired “sometime ago.” He said he had become accustomed to carrying around the gun without a valid permit, the records say…

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