Friday, May 3, 2013
Man ordered to stand trial in home invasion case that authorities say led to Wilson woman's death.
Carrie Smith's voice, recorded two months before her death, was filled with terror. "Please come quick, I was robbed," the Wilson grandmother told the 911 operator in a tape played Wednesday at a preliminary hearing for one of the accused robbers. "They made me open my safe. Please help me before they come back." Police showed up within minutes, but prosecutors say the damage was done. They say stress of the gunpoint robbery caused Smith to suffer a heart attack, which caused her health to decline until she died on March 16, 2012. Her death was ruled a homicide. And now, one of those accused robbers—30-year-old Rogel Suero of Allentown—is headed to trial for allegedly robbing, threatening, assaulting and ultimately killing the 76-year-old …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Two Berks County brothers are charged with killing Dario McLemore, a Palmer Township resident and Easton Area High School graduate.
Two Berks County brothers have been charged with killing a Palmer Township man on the streets of Reading in early December. Michael Allen Wilkins, 39, and Maurice Adrian Wilkins, 32, both of Fleetwood, have been charged with killing Dario McLemore, 22, of Palmer Township, and another man, Rafael Alequin, in the 1100 block of Franklin Street, of Reading. They are also charged with killing Jennifer Velez-Negron, whose burned body was found dumped in Salisbury Township two days after Christmas. McLemore, of Olde Penn Drive in Palmer Township, was discovered about 2:30 a.m. on Franklin Street in Reading seconds after shots were fired. McLemore—who was staying with friends in Reading—was found yards away from a van where another person was …
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Violent crime dropped in city in 2012, the same year as a 'historic' number of homicides.
This news should make residents of Palmer and Forks Townships feel better. Despite a "historic" number of homicides last year, Easton was a safer place in 2012, Mayor Sal Panto said Wednesday. Panto addressed the city's record six killings in his annual state of the city address, saying that crime actually dropped in Easton last year. Violent crimes went down 14 percent, the mayor said, with overall crime declining by 16 percent. Of the six killings last year, police have identified suspects in four cases. One of those four—the death of Matthew Kelly—was ruled self-defense last week by a Northampton County grand jury. Panto used much of the addresses to review signficant city accomplishments of 2012: The mayor also praised the city's …
Monday, February 11, 2013
Rogel Suero accused of causing fatal heart attack of Wilson's Carrie Smith's during burglary.
A man facing homicide charges for allegedly causing a woman's fatal heart attack during a burglary has been caught. Rogel Suero was still at large in November when he was charged with criminal homicide in the death of 76-year-old Wilson resident Carrie Smith. On Thursday, he was picked up by authorities in Texas, according to Patricia Mulqueen, the assistant Northampton County district attorney handling his case. Mulqueen said she wasn't sure of the circumstances behind Suero's arrest. She said Suero waived extradition, and should be back in Pennsylvania soon. According to police, Smith suffered a heart attack after her granddaughter Rebecca Johnson and Suero -- Johnson's boyfriend -- burglarized Smith's home on Hillside Avenue last …
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Police, coroner, DA investigating fight between two men on Northampton Street in Easton.
A man who was beaten unconscious in downtown Easton on Christmas Eve has died of his injuries, city police said. Andres Ruiz-Avelizapa never regained consciousness and died Monday afternoon, according to police Lt. Matthew Gerould. Ruiz-Avelizapa had been hospitalized since the early morning hours of Dec. 24, when he was allegedly assaulted by Antonio Ortiz on the 400 block of Northampton Street. Ortiz, 33, of 462 Northampton St., had been charged with aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person. Police are working with the Northampton County District Attorney and Coroner to determine what the next step is. "We're still investigating, and part of that is autopsy," Gerould said. If prosecutors decide to file homicide …
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Easton say more murders last year than any year since 2007. Mayor says improving neighborhoods will make city safer.
Back in November, after Easton saw its fourth killing of the year, we noted that the city's homicide rate was the worst since 2007. That was the year Easton had five murders. What we didn't note was that Easton quickly tied that record a few weeks later, with the death of Paul Murray, the fifth and final homicide of 2012. In an interview with the Morning Call last week, Mayor Sal Panto put the blame on easy access to guns and a culture of violence, but also said the city needs to change its demographics to lower violence. "Better homes attract better people," Panto said. "We want the neighborhoods to come back. We want owner-occupied neighborhoods." We want to know what you think. Tell us in the comments what you think Easton needs to do …
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Prosecutor says Elizabeth Collazo is expected to admit to murder of Mark Werkheiser in court Monday.
An Easton woman is expected to plead guilty next week to the murder of the father of her four children. Elizabeth "Lily" Collazo is scheduled to admit to first-degree murder at 9 a.m. Monday in Northampton County Court, said First Assistant District Attorney Terry Houck. Collazo was charged in March with killing Mark Werkheiser, shooting him six times with his own handgun while he slept at his home in Wlliams Township. Police recorded a phone conversation between Collazo and one of her friends in which she admits to the killing. She and Werkheiser had been in the middle of a custody dispute involving their children. By pleading guilty, Collazo avoids a possible death sentence. Under state law, anyone convicted of first-degree murder …
Friday, December 21, 2012
Attorneys in Williams Township homicide case ask judge to step down, seek new venue for trial.
- POLICE & FIRE
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Friday, December 21, 2012
Attorneys representing a woman accused of killing her ex-boyfriend in Williams Township are asking the judge in her death penalty murder trial to step down. That's according to the Express-Times, which notes that the lawyers for Elizabeth Collazo want the death penalty removed from her case. They're also asking to have her trial rescheduled and moved to another county, and to have a new judge preside over the case. Collazo is accused of killing Mark Werkheiser, the father of her four children, at his home in Williams Township earlier this year. Her trial was due to start next month, but her lawyers want it pushed back to May. Collazo's lawyers argue trial Judge Edward Smith also handled the protection-from-abuse order Werkheiser and …
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Easton man accused of fatal shooting over summer appears in court Friday for preliminary hearing, but gets continuance for not having public defender.
Naheem Adams, accused in the fatal shooting of an Easton man last summer, doesn't seem to be in a rush for a speedy trial. Appearing before District Judge Richard Yetter Friday afternoon, the man accused of killing George Jeter in July received a continuance of his preliminary hearing. A new date has been set for 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 18 before Yetter. Yetter wondered why Adams had yet to file an application for a public defender twice. Adams told the judge he was awaiting a decision by his family. The judge also wondered why Adams didn't sign a document for his right to a trial in 365 days when he appeared in county court on Dec. 4. "I'm not signing anything," said Adams, who wore an orange Northampton County Prison jumpsuit. City police had …
Friday, December 7, 2012
A Northampton County grand jury has been investigating Matthew Kelly's West Ward homicide since the spring.
Charges could be filed in the next few weeks in the case of a Nazareth Area High School graduate shot and killed earlier this year in Easton. Bethlehem resident Matthew Kelly was killed at the beginning of April, and his death went before a Northampton County grand jury a few weeks later. Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said Monday charges could be filed in the case within 30-60 days "if not sooner." He was speaking at a news conference about two more recent cases: a shootout in Bethlehem that killed a 23-year-old woman, and the death of Paul Murray on Easton's South Side on Sunday. Kelly, 20, was shot and fatally wounded April 1 in the parking lot of a West Ward church. Police believe Kelly and two women had planned…
Armed Citizen
8:22 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013
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