Tornado Touchdowns Confirmed In NJ, PA Tornado Touchdowns Confirmed In NJ, PA Tornado Touchdowns Confirmed In NJ, PA
Tornado Touchdowns Confirmed In NJ, PA A pair of tornados touched down in New Jersey and Pennsylvania during Monday, June 26's afternoon storms, the National Weather Service confirmed. Few details have been released in the twisters that touched down in Bernardsville (Somerset County, NJ) and Lower Mt. Bethel Township (Northampton County, PA). The PA tornado — rated an EF-o on the Enhanced Fujita scale — started at 2:58 p.m. and ended at 3:04 p.m., CBS reports citing the National Weather Service. The tornado reached winds of 65 mph and traveled 3.37 miles, the National Weather Service said. As of Tuesday morning, June …
Coroner IDs Body Found In Lehigh River Coroner IDs Body Found In Lehigh River Coroner IDs Body Found In Lehigh River
Coroner IDs Body Found In Lehigh River Northampton County authorities have identified the body found floating in the Lehigh River over the weekend.  He was 62-year-old Bethlehem resident Dale G. Moyer, county Coroner Zachary Lysek's Office said in a release. Moyer's official cause and manner of death are pending the results of an investigation, Lysek added.  His body was found in Lower Saucon Township on Sunday, June 25, according to the release. 
'Total Loss': Fire Destroys Monroe County Shopping Plaza 'Total Loss': Fire Destroys Monroe County Shopping Plaza 'Total Loss': Fire Destroys Monroe County Shopping Plaza
'Total Loss': Fire Destroys Monroe County Shopping Plaza A fire completely destroyed a Monroe County shopping plaza Sunday, June 25, firefighters said. The blaze at the two-story strip mall, Fountain Court Shopping Plaza, on Route 611 in Pocono Township had risen to multiple alarms as of noon. That evening, the Stroudsburg Fire Department said the shopping center was a "total loss." "The fire was stubborn and despite the efforts of all responding agencies, it spread extensively," the SFD said.  Firefighters from Warren, Monroe, Lehigh and Northampton counties were at the scene.
Pedestrian, 77, Killed Crossing Easton Street Pedestrian, 77, Killed Crossing Easton Street Pedestrian, 77, Killed Crossing Easton Street
Pedestrian, 77, Killed Crossing Easton Street An Easton man is dead after being struck by a car while crossing a city street on Thursday, June 15.  Saifeddin Alrefai, 77, of the West Ward, was walking across Larry Holmes Drive when he was hit, said Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek's Office in a release.  Alrefai was rushed to the emergency room at St. Luke’s Hospital, Anderson Campus where he was pronounced dead, officials said. His death has been ruled accidental by cause of multiple blunt force injuries, Lysek added.  No charges were announced in connection with the crash. 
Troopers Remove 'Homemade Pipe Bombs' From Schuylkill County Home Troopers Remove 'Homemade Pipe Bombs' From Schuylkill County Home Troopers Remove 'Homemade Pipe Bombs' From Schuylkill County Home
Troopers Remove 'Homemade Pipe Bombs' From Schuylkill County Home State police are searching for answers after a pair of "homemade pipe bombs" were discovered hidden in the ceiling of a vacant Schuylkill County apartment unit.  It happened on Wednesday, May 31, troopers wrote in a release. Police in Girardville Borough were called to an apartment at 30 West Main Street to investigate a "possible explosive device," authorities said.  On arrival, police found what they called a "homemade pipe bomb with signs of electrical detonation" tucked away in the ceiling.  The state police Hazardous Device and Explosives Section was called to clea…
Stroller-Pushing Lehigh Valley Man Exposed Self To Juvenile, Police Claim Stroller-Pushing Lehigh Valley Man Exposed Self To Juvenile, Police Claim Stroller-Pushing Lehigh Valley Man Exposed Self To Juvenile, Police Claim
Stroller-Pushing Lehigh Valley Man Exposed Self To Juvenile, Police Claim A Northampton County man is charged with indecent exposure after authorities say he revealed himself to a juvenile outside a beer store.  Slate Belt Regional Police were called to a gas station in Plainfield Township for "suspicious activity" around 3 p.m. on Friday, May 19, the department wrote in a release.  Dispatchers were told of a "tall, balding man, pushing a stroller who had exposed himself to a juvenile," authorities wrote.  Officers arrived to find 50-year-old Louis W. Coopersmith at a nearby beer distributor, where he was "determined to be manifestly under the inf…
Explosives Found Inside Lehigh Valley Home Explosives Found Inside Lehigh Valley Home Explosives Found Inside Lehigh Valley Home
Explosives Found Inside Lehigh Valley Home State police paid a visit to a Northampton County home early Saturday and left with two explosives, authorities say.  Troopers were called to a residence on Flafair Drive in Williams Township around 10:45 a.m. on May 20 for a report of a found grenade, they wrote in a release. At the scene, a second grenade was eventually discovered.  Both weapons were found to be "inert," and the Bethlehem Bomb Squad took possession of the explosives, troopers said.  No one was injured and police say no charges will be filed in connection with the find. 
Five Masked Burglars Targeted Lehigh Valley Home, Police Say Five Masked Burglars Targeted Lehigh Valley Home, Police Say Five Masked Burglars Targeted Lehigh Valley Home, Police Say
Five Masked Burglars Targeted Lehigh Valley Home, Police Say Investigators in Northampton County are looking for the crew of masked burglars who forced their way into a Lower Saucon home on Tuesday night.  It happened around 8 p.m. on May 16, township police wrote in a release. Five men dressed in all black with face coverings smashed the rear sliding glass door of a house on the 2800 block of Macarro Way, authorities said.  The team of burglars fled the home when a resident spotted them and screamed, police continued. They were last seen speeding out of the neighborhood toward Drifting Drive in the pictured vehicle. Anyone with informatio…
Ex-PA Police Chief Pretended To Be Back On Force While Pulling Over Driver: Authorities Ex-PA Police Chief Pretended To Be Back On Force While Pulling Over Driver: Authorities Ex-PA Police Chief Pretended To Be Back On Force While Pulling Over Driver: Authorities
Ex-PA Police Chief Pretended To Be Back On Force While Pulling Over Driver: Authorities An ex-police chief in Northampton County who resigned just before facing misconduct charges last fall tried to pull over a driver and pretend he was still an officer, according to authorities.  Eric K. Schwab, who resigned his leadership post in the Stockertown Borough Police Department in September citing a thumb injury, is charged with impersonating a public servant, said Palmer Township police in a release. On Friday, May 5, police say Schwab used his personal Ford Explorer outfitted with emergency lights and a siren to pull over a motorist on Van Buren Road around 5:10 p.m.&nb…
Know Him? Suspect Sought In Easton Stabbing Of 58-Year-Old Know Him? Suspect Sought In Easton Stabbing Of 58-Year-Old Know Him? Suspect Sought In Easton Stabbing Of 58-Year-Old
Know Him? Suspect Sought In Easton Stabbing Of 58-Year-Old Police in Northampton County are searching for the man who they say stabbed another on a city street in broad daylight early this week.  The pictured suspect is accused of attacking a 58-year-old man with a knife on the 400 block of Northampton Street in Easton on Monday, April 24 at about 1:20 p.m., police said.  The victim was stabbed once and his injury was "deemed survivable," authorities say, though his condition as of Friday, April 28 was not clear. Investigators believe the attack was "targeted" and not random, the department added.  The suspect is described as 5-foot…
Slate Belt Senior Pointed Gun At Neighbor, Police Claim Slate Belt Senior Pointed Gun At Neighbor, Police Claim Slate Belt Senior Pointed Gun At Neighbor, Police Claim
Slate Belt Senior Pointed Gun At Neighbor, Police Claim A Northampton County man is accused of threatening his neighbor with a gun, say authorities.  Robert Overpeck Sr., 84, of Wind Gap, is charged with misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats, simple assault, and reckless endangerment, Slate Belt Regional Police wrote in a release.  The neighbor claimed to police that on April 13, Overpeck walked onto her property, pulled a gun from a holster, and pointed it at her, the department said. A search of his home turned up a revolver in a holster as well as a rifle, police wrote.  His bail was set at $20,000 and he will appear in co…
Slate Belt Motorcyclist Charged With Starting Lehigh Valley Brush Fire Slate Belt Motorcyclist Charged With Starting Lehigh Valley Brush Fire Slate Belt Motorcyclist Charged With Starting Lehigh Valley Brush Fire
Slate Belt Motorcyclist Charged With Starting Lehigh Valley Brush Fire A Slate Belt man faces criminal charges for allegedly setting a brush fire in Northampton County on Tuesday, say authorities.  Slate Belt Regional Police were called to a home on Batts Switch Road in Plainfield Township at 5:30 p.n. on April 11 for a requested welfare check, the department wrote in a release.  There, the caller said they were concerned for Phillip D. Berberena, who had been in the area of the Appalachian Trail and had been riding his motorcycle, according to police.  Hours later, at 9 p.m., officers were called to the scene of a brush fire on the Appalachian…