Bethlehem Attorney Runs for Judge, But Is Seat Open?

Tom Carroll announces his candidacy for the Northampton County judgeship currently held by Leonard Zito, who has sued Pennsylvania to stop mandatory retirement at age 70.

  An attorney from Bethlehem has announced that he will run for Northampton County judge, citing 25 years of legal experience. However, Tom Carroll is running for a seat currently being held by a man who does not want to let it go – and has sued the state to keep it. Judge Leonard Zito turned 70 on Jan. 26, which means that under Pennsylvania law he is required to retire by the end of this year. But Zito and five other Pennsylvania judges have sued in Commonwealth Court, claiming that the mandatory retirement age violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article I of the state Constitution. It is unclear how the lawsuit might affect the election that would otherwise replace …

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Teen Pleads Guilty to Bethlehem Armed Robbery

Cameron C. Blake, 18, of Bethlehem admitted that he robbed a man at gunpoint then forced him to withdraw $200 more from an ATM.

A Bethlehem teenager, who confessed to robbing a man at gunpoint, pleaded guilty Thursday, according to a Morning Call story. Cameron C. Blake, 18, of the 1300 block of W. Lehigh Street, pleaded guilty to robbery, reckless endangerment, terroristic threats and a firearms offense. He is scheduled for sentencing in Northampton County court Jan. 25. On Sept. 9, Blake had robbed a man at gunpoint in the area of W. Market Street and Heckewelder Place, just east of Main Street, according to court records. Then he forced him to drive to an ATM at the 7-Eleven at 14th Avenue and W. Broad Street, where the victim withdrew $200 and gave it to Blake. Blake told the man he would kill him if he called police and then Blake kept the victim's driver's …

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Bethlehem Man Accused in Beating Death of Mom to Face Trial

Charges against Michael Lindgren in the death of his 77-year-old mother are bound over for court at a preliminary hearing.

Attempted Homicide Charge Dropped in Stabbing

Brooklyn, N.Y., man who stabbed a co-worker in a Bethlehem Township hotel pleads guilty to simple assault, harassment and will spend no more than 11 months in jail.

  A Brooklyn, N.Y., man who stabbed a co-worker in the chest in a hotel parking lot in Bethlehem Township will serve between 5½ and 11 months in Northampton County Prison as a result of his plea deal in court, The Express Times reported. Asani Wahid Elliott, 20, pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment, simple assault and harassment before Northampton County Judge Anthony Beltrami on Tuesday, the newspaper reported. Elliott had also been charged with attempted homicide and aggravated assault, but those charges went away in the plea deal. The newspaper report said prosecutors were dealing with an uncooperative victim, Vincent Dukes of Alverne, N.Y., in the case. Prosecutors had reportedly lost contact with Dukes as the case moved forward and…

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Crime News

City Man Gets 2½-Year Minimum for for Melee

Joesyan Miranda was at the scene when 2 were shot in Marvine-Pembroke in March, but DA cannot prove he was part of conspiracy to kill.

  A Bethlehem man who was accused of playing a role in a March incident in which two people, including a woman six months pregnant, were shot, was sentenced to 2½ to nine years in prison, according to published reports. Charges of conspiracy to commit homicide and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault were dropped against Joesyan Miranda, 23, of 375 Hamilton Ave. The Northampton County District Attorney did not have enough evidence to make those charges stick, according to The Express Times. Nonetheless, Miranda did plead guilty to aggravated assault for pulling out a box cutter during a March 20 melee in the city’s Marvine-Pembroke section. The fight began when Miranda and Robinson Moyo-Torres confronted a teenager who was revving an …

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Robert Pfenning is New City Controller

Retired accountant is picked by panel of Northampton County judges, which interviewed candidates this week.

  A panel of Northampton County judges today selected Bethlehem’s new controller, choosing a candidate that was not a first pick of any member of City Council. Robert Pfenning, 71, a retired accountant, will fill the $49,000-a-year part-time job through the end of 2013, according to published reports. He will finish the term that Meg Holland was elected to serve in 2009. All nine Northampton County judges met this week to interview four of six candidates that had initially applied, The Express-Times reported. Pfenning attends most council meetings and frequently comments on the proceedings during the public comment portions of the meeting.  Last year, Pfenning served as campaign treasurer for the Republican candidates for City Council – Al…

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