Crime News

Mom, 26, High on Heroin Robbed 7-Eleven, Gets 2-4 Years in Jail

Joanna Scandlen told police she was high on heroin and financially desperate when she robbed a gas station and a 7-Eleven in September.

  A 26-year-old Bethlehem mother of two who admitted to robbing a gas station and a convenience store will spend between two and four years in state prison for her crimes, according to The Morning Call. Joanna Scandlen, who admitted to police that she was financially desperate and high on heroin and Ecstasy when she committed the robberies, also got 10 years of probation in the sentence handed down Wednesday by Northampton County Judge Emil Giordano. Scandlen, of 3120 East Blvd., robbed the Quick Fill gas station at 2960 Linden St. on Sept. 15 and the 7-Eleven at 2930 Linden St. the following day. Both robberies happened in the early morning hours, with Scandlen flashing store clerks a BB handgun hidden under her sweatshirt, according to …

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Crime News

Cabbie Robber Faces 6½ to 20 Years in Prison

Judge hands down stiff sentence to SouthSide robber, despite questions about witnesses.

A Bethlehem man who was convicted in an April SouthSide stickup of a cab driver was sentenced to serve six-and-a-half to 20 years in state prison on Friday. Manuel Martinez, 44, got the stiff prison sentence from Northampton County Judge Emil Giordano despite questions that were raised about the truthfulness of the prosecution’s witnesses, according to The Express Times. Martinez’s attorney, Tony Rybak, said he will appeal. According to the arrest record, Martinez walked up to the cab at Broadway and Fiot Street early Easter morning and pointed a black semi-automatic handgun at the cab driver’s head and demanded cash. He ran off with $156, but a passenger in the cab told police she saw Martinez enter a home at 715 Broadway, near the …

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Crime News

Center City 7-Eleven Robbed

Suspect handed store clerk a note demanding money in cash register, shortly before midnight Tuesday, police say.

  The 7-Eleven at Broad and Center streets was robbed a little before midnight Tuesday night, Bethlehem police said. The suspect apparently never brandished a gun, but did provide the clerk with the impression that he had one as he handed over a note demanding the money in the store’s cash register, police said. The store clerk handed over the money and the suspect fled the scene. An initial search for the suspect was unsuccessful, police said. The suspect was described by police as a black male, possibly in his late 20s, five-foot-nine with a medium build and dreadlocks that were tucked inside a white winter cap. He was wearing a black jacket with white stripes down the sleeves, black pants and shoes and dark sunglasses. Anyone with …

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Bethlehem Police Report Gun Threat, Assault

A man reportedly points a gun at a victim and tries to steal his medication before assaulting him, city police say.

A man tried to rob a Bethlehem resident at gunpoint before assaulting him and fleeing, city police reported. The victim, who police did not identify, reported that about 3 a.m. Dec. 7 he had invited a friend-of-a-friend into his apartment at the 1300 block of Winters Avenue, according to a story in the Express Times.  The man allegedly pulled a gun on the resident and demanded medication that was kept in a lockbox. When the resident refused, the gunman took the key and tried to open the box while the resident tried to get away. The assailant, described as a 6-foot-tall white man in jeans and a baseball cap, left the box and went after the victim, pistol-whipping him before leaving the apartment on foot traveling south, police said. The …

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Crime News

Police: Man Tried to Rob Casino Patron with Finger

Homeless man accused of sticking finger into the side of a woman playing slots and asking: "Do you want to see my pistol?"

  A 62-year-old man went up to a woman playing the slots at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem at about 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 25 and stuck a finger into her right side. ”Do you want to see my pistol? I need your money,” he told her. The woman attempted to offer him whatever money was remaining on the slot machine but was unable to cash it out. Then she saw a dollar bill on the floor and asked him if he wanted it. ”The accused paused, and after some time, walked away,” court records say. ”The accused” – James Compton, who once lived in Easton but now claims to be homeless – was later charged with robbery, a first-degree felony. He was arraigned later that day by on-duty District Judge John Capobianco of Nazareth and committed to Northampton …

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Crime News

Victim Lured to Freedom Athletic Fields, Robbed

South Bethlehem man is charged with luring a victim behind baseball fields where he and a juvenile beat and robbed the target, township police say.

  A South Bethlehem man is accused of luring another man to the athletic fields of Freedom High School, where he allegedly beat and robbed his victim, according to court papers. Scott Anthony Sousa, 20, of 2129 Princeton Ave., allegedly had a juvenile accomplice who was also charged but not named in the court papers. According to the arrest affidavit: Sousa was arrested early Friday and charged with felony robbery, simple assault, theft, receiving stolen property and two counts of conspiracy. He was arraigned before on-duty District Judge Joseph Barner of Lower Nazareth Township and committed to Northampton County Prison after he failed to post $25,000 bail.

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Crime News

SouthSide Man Charged in Downtown Beating, Robbery

Victim who had bloodied, bruised face told police he was attacked by four men at Broad Street house party Saturday night.

  A South Bethlehem teenager is accused of participating in a savage group beating and robbery of another during a house party in the historic downtown on Saturday night, according to court records. Benjamin Ragsdale, 19, of 629 William St., allegedly started a fight with Brian Lichtenwalner that put in Lichtenwalner in the emergency room at St. Luke’s University Hospital in Fountain Hill. The victim suffered numerous injuries, including a bloody nose and mouth, the arrest affidavit says. Lichtenwalner told police he also had several items stolen from him, including an iPhone, a pair of earrings, a pair of sneakers and $100 cash. The incident took place about 10:30 p.m. at 85 E. Broad St., the site of the party. Lichtenwalner told police …

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Lehigh Student Robbed of $20 and Cell Phone

Suspect in street robbery is described as 6-feet tall and dressed entirely in black.

  A Lehigh University student was robbed of his cell phone and $20 cash near Broughal Middle School on Morton Street early Tuesday, Bethlehem police said. The cell phone was recovered a short time later near the Wells Fargo bank on W. Fourth St., police said. The incident occurred at about 12:45 a.m. The suspect was described as being 6-feet tall and dressed entirely in black, police said. According to The Morning Call, the victim did not see a weapon, but heard something “click” and felt something hard pressed against his back. Anyone with information is asked to call Bethlehem police at 610-865-7187.

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Crime News

Police: SouthSide Woman Beats Man with Fists, Tools

After victim failed to produce enough money to satisfy her, suspect started swinging her fists and his tools, police said.

  A South Bethlehem woman is charged with using a man’s tools – including a metal rod, a metal bolt cutter and a screwdriver – to hit and stab him during an apparent shakedown for money at his home on Thursday, according to court records. April Sue Cayer, 24, of 909 Laufer St., also allegedly punched her victim, Michael Thompson, in the face numerous times before walking out of his house with his metal lug nut wrench, the arrest affidavit says. Thompson told police that Cayer began to send him text messages early in the day, asking him if he had any money for her. Thompson said he told her he would try to get her some. It was unclear from the affidavit why Thompson owed Cayer money. Cayer, who is 5-feet, 4-inches tall and weighs 120 pounds…

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Crime News

City Teens Charged in Holdup of Lehigh Students

One of two 17-year-old suspects was wearing a Juvenile Probation GPS tracking device when he allegedly committed robbery. Both suspects to be charged as adults.

  Bethlehem police have arrested two 17-year-old boys, one of whom was already wearing a Northampton County Juvenile Probation GPS tracking device, and charged them with the attempted stickup of two Lehigh University students early Monday. Muhaafiz Ibn Salaam of 712 E. Sixth St. and Shaqur Watts of 522 Atlantic St. – both of whom already have extensive criminal histories – are each being charged as adults with three felony counts of robbery, according to court papers. According to his arrest affidavit, Salaam was wearing a GPS tracker at the time of the robbery and the device placed him at the scene of the crime – the 600 block of E. Fifth Street – when it happened – about 2:20 a.m. Monday. Watts allegedly enticed the two victims – …

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