A former Stockertown police chief who reportedly resigned before he could face disciplinary proceedings has been charged with forgery and related offenses. The Northampton County D-A's office says 44-year-old Eric Schwab of Nazareth was charged Monday with felony forgery, two counts of unsworn falsification to authorities and tampering with records, among other offenses. Schwab allegedly had tried to get a retired law enforcement officer's qualification card that would exempt him, as a former law officer, from the state's concealed carry laws. The D-A's office says one of the signatures on the documents Schwab presented was forged and that Schwab wasn't eligible for the permit because he didn't leave his job in good standing. Schwab is free after posting $15,000 bail.
One person is dead following a police pursuit in the Poconos. The incident happened yesterday when police attempted to stop a motorcyclist along Neyhart Road in Hamilton Township for a traffic violation. Police say the motorcyclist didn't stop and sped off before they hit a utility pole. The rider was pronounced dead on the scene.
A Monroe County teen is charged with making phony 911 calls to dispatchers in at least six states. State troopers say they also found child pornography on his computer when they stopped by to question the unnamed 17-year-old at his Jackson Township home. The investigation began when deputies in Texas contacted Pennsylvania state police about swatting calls they received in Collin County, which is north of Dallas. Investigators say they found evidence of nine other swatting calls on the teen's computer that were made to schools in Florida, Oregon, Kentucky, California and Tennessee. He is being held until his preliminary hearing.
The Sheetz convenience store on Schoenersville Road in Bethlehem may be torn down and replaced by...a new Sheetz. The new Sheetz could include a drive-thru, car wash along with parking and gas pumps. In approved, Sheetz would level all existing buildings and underground storage tanks before constructing a new 6,139-square-foot convenience center with 12 fueling stations. Sheetz will present its plans to the Bethlehem Planning Commission on Thursday.
There are two new residents at the Lehigh Valley Zoo. The zoo has welcomed two, two-year-old female antelopes, joining its lone male. The females have not yet been named. The zoo hopes the arrival of the two females will result in baby antelopes.
A manhunt is underway to find 18-year-old Ameen Hurst, who police have charged with four Philadelphia murders, as well Nassir Grant, who was being held on drug charges. Officials say they escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center Sunday night through a hole in a fence. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney says this kind of mistake won't be tolerated. "I'm really angry about it. There's no reason for this. If everybody followed through and did what they're supposed to do, we wouldn't have this problem. So, we're going to find out what happened, who didn't do what and get to the bottom of it," Kenney says. Despite three head counts, the prisons commissioner says the men's absence wasn't noticed until Monday afternoon, about 19 hours after the escape.
Federal regulators say efforts to decommission Three Mile Island's Unit 2 reactor are moving into a new phase. The facility near Middletown, Pennsylvania was the site of the most serious nuclear accident in America when it experienced a partial meltdown in 1979. This latest phase will see crews begin to remove core debris from the reactor and is expected to take about six years. It will take another eight years to completely dismantle the structure. Unit 2 has been in a monitoring phase for almost three decades.
New Jersey's Attorney General is highlighting a program that pairs officers with mental health professionals when responding to emotional distress calls. What's known as the ARRIVE Together program was piloted last year in Cumberland County and is expanding to numerous other places in the state. Attorney General Matt Platkin believes in the program. "As we grow and expand, I think you're going to see trust strengthened between communities that see law enforcement is there to help them," the AG says. Platkin says a recent study on the program shows fewer uses of force, arrests and racial disparities in policing outcomes, and more people getting mental health treatment.
New Jersey is increasing protections for those who work or volunteer in health care. Governor Phil Murphy signed the Health Care Heroes Act, which makes it a criminal offense to threaten a healthcare worker. The accused could spend six months behind bars or pay a one-thousand dollar fine. The measure also sets up additional penalties for anyone who assaults a healthcare worker or volunteer. Governor Murphy says threats against who he calls "these courageous heroes" are growing, calling it unacceptable.