Crime News

Man Carrying Bag of Drugs Tried to Run, Police Say

South Bethlehem man was pulled over because his minivan had a broken headlight, but then he ran away carrying bag of cocaine and marijuana, police say.

  A South Bethlehem man was carrying cocaine and marijuana when he tried to run away from city police during a traffic stop made when an officer spotted him driving a mini-van with a busted headlight, according to court papers. As a result, Francis Perez Jr., 28, of 1140 Amplex St. is facing multiple charges, including drug possession, drunk driving and other traffic violations. Officer James Hoffman spotted Perez’s maroon Honda Odyssey with a failing headlight on the 500 block of Broadway at a little before 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The minivan pulled into the parking lot of Ahart’s Market, 410 Montclair Ave., after Hoffman activated his police cruiser siren and light bar. But then traffic stop took…

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Construction to Slow Night Traffic on Route 412

Removal of an 'overhead railroad structure' in South Bethlehem will mean extra lane restrictions and flagging for about a week.

  PennDOT contractors will begin removing “an overhead railroad structure” on Thursday, which could mean traffic delays for any vehicles traveling along Route 412 in South Bethlehem during overnight hours for about a week. This small piece of the ongoing three-year, $35.9 million Route 412 widening project will mean lane restrictions and flagging from Shimersville Road to Emery Street and between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. until April 10, according to a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation news release. The lane restrictions will not be in place on Saturday night, PennDOT said. Also, on April 9 from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. there will be "brief traffic stoppages" associated with the structure's removal, the state agency added.

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Crime News

Attempted Homicide Victims Don't Show: Hearing Postponed

A preliminary hearing for Tony Ray Arvelo, accused in February double-stabbing on Ontario Street, is postponed when his alleged victims fail to appear at court.

An Allentown man facing a charge of attempted homicide for a February stabbing in South Bethlehem had his preliminary hearing postponed on Tuesday because his alleged victims did not show up. Northampton County Assistant District Attorney Robert Eyer told District Judge Nancy Matos-Gonzalez that efforts to locate the alleged victims, Marianna and Angel Rodriguez, were unsuccessful. Matos-Gonzalez granted the continuance for a hearing for defendant Tony Ray Arvelo, but ordered that subpoenas be issued to the alleged victims for the rescheduled hearing. Marianna and Angel Rodriguez were stabbed at an apartment at 502 Ontario St. after a fight and during a party on Feb. 9, according to Bethlehem police. Arvelo, 24, of 618 Chew St., is charged…

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Crime News

Broken Nose & Stolen Gun Part of Domestic Mess, Police Say

Woman who allegedly had nose and eye socket broken by boyfriend calls mother who comes with a handgun-brandishing friend, according to court papers.

  A scene of domestic violence on Fillmore Street in South Bethlehem escalated into menacing threats and gunplay early Monday when the alleged victim called her mother, who showed up and brought along an armed friend, according to court records. The armed friend, Francisco Sanchez, 46, of 419 W. Union Boulevard in Bethlehem, allegedly brandished his weapon, which turned out to be a stolen .38-caliber semi-automatic handgun, and threatened to kill the allegedly abusive boyfriend, according to an arrest affidavit. The suspect, 22-year-old Doriel A. Ramirez-Castro of 328 Fillmore St., is accused, in another arrest affidavit, of breaking his girlfriend’s nose and left eye socket when he allegedly punched her in the face multiple times outside …

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Crime News

Child Abduction Attempted in SouthSide, Police Say

Man driving a forest green pickup truck tried to lure child walking along E. Third Street Tuesday morning, Bethlehem police report.

  A man tried to lure a child into a forest green pickup truck in the 1200 block of E. Third Street in South Bethlehem at about 9 Tuesday morning, according to Bethlehem police, which issued an alert to parents. The man who made the abduction attempt is described as clean-shaven, in his 40s or 50s, with medium complexion, a short haircut, acne and acne scaring on his forehead, a crooked nose and a Spanish accent.   The child described the pickup truck as being in good shape with no observable damage. Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to call the Bethlehem Police Department at 610-865-7187.

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Crime News

Heroin Sold Behind Ahart's Market, Police Say

Allentown man accused of selling heroin to a confidential police informant.

  An Allentown man has been arrested and charged with selling heroin to a confidential police informant on an alley just south of Broadway in South Bethlehem, according to court papers. Victor M.B. Gonzales, 53, of 420 N. Railroad St., allegedly made the sale to the informant on Feb. 15, just before 2 p.m., on the 300 block of Cress Street, according to the arrest affidavit. Cress Street is an alley that runs parallel to Broadway between Birkel Avenue and Carlton Avenue. The location of the alleged heroin buy was behind the Ahart’s Market. Gonzales was charged with possession with intent to deliver heroin and arraigned Monday morning before District Judge Nancy Matos Gonzalez. He was committed to Northampton County Prison after failing to …

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Crime News

Craigslist Con Cost Home Seekers Thousands: Police

Allentown man placed fake Craigslist ads for South Bethlehem rental units he did not control, scamming five people out of hundreds of dollars each, criminal complaint says.

  An Allentown man was charged last week with using Craigslist ads to scam Bethlehem apartment hunters out of thousands of dollars, providing fake leases for units he did not control, according to court papers. Gamaliel Rosado, 29, of 1430 Lehigh St., practiced the alleged scam between Nov. 2 and Jan. 16, bilking hundreds of dollars each out of five victims who were seeking rental units in South Bethlehem, according to a criminal complaint filed by Bethlehem Police Det. Fabian Martinez. According to the criminal complaint: Rosado was charged with theft and receiving stolen property, both felonies. He was arraigned Wednesday before District Judge Nancy Matos-Gonzalez and committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $25,000 bail.

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Crime News

Godmother Choice Argument Boils Over, Police Say

Father of child is accused of choking his baby's mother and hitting his stepfather, according to court papers.

A woman and a Bethlehem man recently had a baby, but they were arguing Monday night about who would be the baby’s godmother. Police say the argument boiled over to the point where the man choked the mother of his child and hit his stepfather in the face. The suspect, Nakhiem Namar Battle, 24, told police he had taken prescription medication and “does not know why he acted the way he did.” His alleged actions landed him in Northampton County Prison. City Officer Samuel Elias writes in a criminal complaint that he responded around 8pm to Battle’s address, 742 E. Fifth St. on SouthSide and talked to the woman, who had “visible injuries” to the left side of her face. The woman said Battle also assaulted her the previous day – it was early …

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Starters Riverport Closes in South Bethlehem

23,000-square-foot restaurant anchor of Riverport Complex on Second Street shut its doors on Friday.

  Starters Riverport, a sports bar and restaurant that anchored one of the first reclamations of a former Bethlehem Steel manufacturing building in South Bethlehem, is closed after seven years, The Express Times reports. Calls to the restaurant went unanswered on Friday evening. Efforts to reach management at the other two Starters restaurants – the pub in Lower Saucon Township and the Clubhouse Grille at the Bethlehem Municipal Golf Club, both of which remained open – were unsuccessful. When it opened in 2006, Starters was hailed as the largest restaurant or sports bar in the Lehigh Valley with 23,000 square feet. It boasted an arcade-style game room, 65 televisions and seven large-screen projection screens. Owner Dave Rank touted the …

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Crime News

Man with Machete Wanted to 'Teach Neighbors Respect,' Police Say

E. Fourth Street man at first ignored orders to drop the 18-inch blade as he walked toward police, court papers say.

A SouthSide man carrying a machete and vowing to “teach his neighbor some respect” walked toward police and at first ignored their orders to put down the weapon before finally obeying, according to police. Police say the incident involving Horacio Vasquez, 46, occurred around 6 p.m. Tuesday near his home on the 1100 block of E. Fourth Street. Police also say Vasquez apparently was intoxicated. Officer Keith Fryslin writes in a criminal complaint that police were dispatched to the E. Fourth Street area for a report of a man with a gun. He was described as wearing a red hoodie. Police said they saw a man with a red hoodie walking out of his apartment – not with a gun but with a machete in his hand. They ordered the man – later identified as …

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