Crime & Safety
Fugitive Kept People Trapped in Home, Police Say
Palmer Township resident Joseph Manna accused of keeping people inside Easton home to avoid arrest.
A Palmer Township man is accused of threatening and keeping a group of people inside an Easton home Monday to avoid arrest by U.S. Marshals.
Joseph Manna, 33, of 43 Freedom Terrace, is charged with unlawful restraint, obstruction of justice and resisting arrest.
According to court records, the Marshals' fugitive task force—joined by Northampton County deputy sheriffs—had been searching for Manna Monday morning in Easton's Highlands neighborhood.
Manna was wanted on drug charges in Somerset County, NJ, court records say.
No one answered the door to the home, and police spoke to a man who said his brother was inside with Manna, who wasn't allowing anyone inside to leave.
Eventually, a woman came out of the house's back door, and police went in and took Manna into custody.
The people inside the house said Manna had threatened them, telling them he would "have people come see them" if he went back to jail.
Manna was arraigned before on-duty District Judge Jackie Taschner and sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $35,000 bail.
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