Friday, May 24, 2013
Another sinkhole opens up on Northwood Avenue in Palmer Township, the third one there in two months.
Are you planning on driving on Northwood Avenue in Palmer Township again? After a third sinkhole in two months opened up Thursday, some residents say they may make alternate routes permanent for their own safety. "My husband refuses to drive down that road after the first sinkhole. He would go up to Corriere and turn down that road to get to anything over by 248," Jessica Blunt commented on the Palmer-Forks Patch.com Facebook page. PennDOT announced Thursday that Northwood Avenue, the main connecting road between Forks Township and Palmer and Lower Nazareth townships, was closed between Van Buren and Tatamy roads for utility work. PennDOT stated that the road is closed due to sinkholes that opened up in an area where the local water …
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Francisco Miranda eluded law enforcement for 18 years in the 1994 South Bethlehem killing of Jorge Velazquez. Now, he will spend the next 10-20 years in prison.
A man who spent 18 years on Pennsylvania’s "Most Wanted" List has pleaded guilty to a 1994 murder in a South Bethlehem parking lot. Francisco G. Miranda, 50, was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in state prison after pleading guilty to third-degree murder, according to published reports. Under the terms of a plea bargain, Miranda will serve the maximum sentence that would have been allowed at the time of the murder, according to The Morning Call. Miranda eluded authorities while he lived in the Dominican Republic but he didn’t flee the country on his own, the newspaper reported. New Jersey officials unwittingly deported Miranda—just weeks after the Bethlehem homicide—after he was arrested on drug charges under an assumed name, according to …
A sinkhole has opened up on Northwood Avenue in Palmer Township for the third time in two months.
Would you believe a third time? Two weeks after Northwood Avenue in Palmer Township was shut by a sinkhole, another one opened up Thursday, this time swallowing part of a Lowe's truck, authorities said. Palmer Township Police Chief Larry Palmer confirmed Thursday afternoon that another sinkhole has shut the road. Sinkholes that shut Northwood Avenue, the key road connecting Forks Township to Palmer and Lower Nazareth townships, happened in early April and returned in early May. The road was closed on a Thursday in early April due to a water main break that caused two sinkholes. Crews from Easton Suburban Water Authority worked around the clock to fix and fill the sinkholes and get the road reopened three days later.
PennDOT has a driver's license center on Route 248 in Palmer Township.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation today announced that all driver license and photo centers, including its full-service center in Harrisburg, will be closed Saturday, May 25, through Monday, May 27 in observance of Memorial Day. PennDOT has a driver's license center on Route 248 in Palmer Township. Customers may still obtain a variety of driver and vehicle products and services online through PennDOT's Driver and Vehicle Services website, www.dmv.state.pa.us<http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/>. Driver and vehicle online services are available 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week and include driver's license and photo ID renewals; vehicle registration renewals; driver-history services; changes of address; driver license and vehicle …
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Easton resident Vernon Fountain, Jr. facing weapon charge for incident in Palmer Township.
The man who allegedly had the machete—Vernon Fountain Jr. of Easton—did not attack anyone, but he displayed the weapon at a store clerk and had a “verbal altercation” with him, causing the clerk “annoyance and alarm,” court records say. Fountain, 23, who was charged with prohibited offensive weapon and disorderly conduct, placed the machete in a garbage can outside the store at 25th and Northampton streets before police arrived, the records say. He allegedly admitted to police that he had the machete and to cutting himself with it. The records do not provide details about the cut. A criminal complaint filed by Palmer Township officer John T. Smoke Jr. says Fountain and the clerk are friends. Surveillance video shows Fountain—a tall man …
The Forks Township Police Department will be pushing seat belt enforcement from now through June 9.
Wear your seat belt. With the Memorial Day holiday weekend approaching, Forks Township will be among local police departments throughout the Lehigh Valley and region that will be promoting—and enforcing—seat belt safety. Forks Township Police Chief Greg Dorney said that through a grant from the state's Buckle Up Pa. program, his department will be focused even more on seat belt usage from now through June 9. Dorney told the Board of Supervisors at Thursday night's meeting that his department received a couple thouand dollars for seat belt enforcement and roving patrols. Dorney said he reviewed township motor vehicle crash data and will have his officers out checking key points in Forks Township throughout that time period. "We will target …
Monday, May 20, 2013
Easton police are investigating three vehicle fires that happened early Saturday and they released a description of a man they want to talk to.
Five vehicle fires within about nine hours Saturday morning are being investigated and police released a description of a "person of interest" they want to talk to about the incidents. Police say a white man 5 feet 10 to 6 feet tall wearing light-colored clothing was seen on the 1200 block of Lehigh Street around the time of some of the fires. He may have fled east on Lehigh Street, possibly in a black vehicle. The fires occurred as follows, according to a press release from Easton police: Authorities are processing all of the vehicles. Easton Police detectives and the Easton Fire Department are investigating. Anyone who was in the area at the time of the fires or anyone with information is asked to call 610-250-6639 or the Easton Police…
Sunday, May 19, 2013
These are the road projects PennDOT has planned for Palmer and Forks Townships this week.
BETWEEN: PA 248 AND PA 33 ROAD NAME: PA 33 BETWEEN: Van Buren Road AND PA 191
Here's a round-up of unusual police news from the Lehigh Valley.
$2,500 ransom demanded from woman, police say: Upper Macungie Police said a woman received a phone call Monday stating that her father was being held captive. The caller demanded a $2,500 ransom. However, the woman later found out her father was safe. Bethlehem man charged with bigamy: A woman with a marriage certificate from New York complained to police that her husband married another woman in Northampton County, according to court records. Man exposed self to cops, threatened judge, police say: An Easton man was charged with disorderly conduct Wednesday morning after he allegedly exposed himself and cursed at police officers, urinated on police paperwork, and threatened a district judge. Police officer breaks toe chasing man at Palmer …
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Man accused in Palmer Park Mall identity theft is also accused of buying more than $13,000 in jewelry with a stolen identity from a Lehigh Valley Mall store, court records say.
A Philadelphia man already accused in an identity theft case at Palmer Park Mall that caused an officer to break his big toe during a foot chase faces additional charges of allegedly buying more than $13,000 in jewelry with a stolen identity. The Palmer mall chase Tuesday night was prompted by calls from Freeman Jewelers that Geffrey Desir, 27, was trying to buy a “Gent’s Ring” valued at almost $7,500 with a stolen credit card and identification, court records say. Additional charges against Desir were filed Thursday. They detail how he allegedly bought more than $13,000 in jewelry, apparently from Littman Jewelers, also using a stolen identity. Littman has a store in Palmer mall, but Desir apparently bought the Littman items at the Lehigh…
