Hitcho Guilty of First Degree Murder of Cop

George Hitcho Jr. is found guilty of first degree murder; punishment phase of trial to to determine whether he gets death penalty to start Monday.

George Hitcho Jr. has been found guilty of first degree murder in the death of Freemansburg police officer Robert Lasso, WFMZ-TV, Channel 69 has reported. The jury will next be asked to determine whether Hitcho will be put to death or put in prison for the rest of his life in the punishment phase of the trial, scheduled to start on Monday. Attorneys for the prosecution and defense finished closing arguments and Northampton County Judge Anthony Beltrami gave the jury its instructions Thursday afternoon, according to The Express Times. The verdict came rapidly thereafter. The jury apparently did not buy defense arguments that Hitcho's mental abilities have been impaired over the years due to multiple head traumas or that he reacted to Lasso …

• Photos (2)

Spectator Swung Baseball Bat at Umpire in Devonshire Park

Salisbury Township police responded to a report of a woman swinging a baseball bat at an umpire in Devonshire Park.

A woman was taken for a psychological evaluation Thursday evening after she swung a baseball bat at an umpire at a baseball game in Salisbury Township, according to police scanner transmissions. Salisbury Township police responded to a report of the woman swinging at the umpire about 7:40 p.m. at a field in Devonshire Park along Bevin Drive. A call from a second witness said the woman had stopped swinging the bat and was now sitting in the bleachers, a dispatcher said. Police arrived and quickly called for an ambulance from Emmaus for transportation to have a psychological examination conducted. Police next canceled the request and said they would transport the woman but that she was kicking at windows in a patrol car. No ambulance was …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Fire Company Banquet Humbles a Cynic

Fire Company awards dinner was an antidote to the loss of personal and community connections in a digital world.

On journalists’ lists of preferred stories to cover, awards dinners – with rambling speeches and inside jokes -- usually fall somewhere between sewer authority meetings and shopping center openings. So when I was assigned to cover the annual awards dinner for Goodwill Fire Co. No. 1 in Trexlertown Saturday evening, I arrived at the Willow Tree Grove banquet hall in Orefield with a let’s-get-this-thing-over-with attitude. Then something happened. As the night wore on, evidence of the extraordinary commitment these volunteers have made to their communities and the camaraderie and genuine admiration they have for each other melted my cold journalistic heart.  Listening to the speeches and jokes, it became clear that the loyalty and respect …

•  9 Comments
• Photos (1)

Police Blotter

Police Blotter: Thefts and Attempted Thefts from Vehicles

The following information was provided by the Salisbury Township Police Department. Arrests do not necessarily indicate a conviction.

The following information was provided by the Salisbury Township Police Department. Theft from vehicle: Pennsylvania registration plate and sticker reported stolen April 17 from two vehicles parked in 1400 block of E. Susquehanna Street. Citation issued April 15 to Michael Sickonic, 30, 930 Hawthorn Road; for damage to unattended vehicle. Resident reported mailbox and tree struck in the 1000 block of Hawthorn Road sometime overnight. Police retrieved front-end grille of a Mazda in the street and a broken hubcap in the yard that matched Sickonic's tan Mazda. Pedestrian hit: Shun Zheng, 62, of Brooklyn, NY, was struck and injured April 12 by a car when he ran across 3300 Lehigh Street, police said. Zheng was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Salisbury Police Find Large Metal Bank Safe

Salisbury Township Police do not know if the heavy metal bank safe found off E. Emmaus Avenue was stolen.

A Salisbury Township police officer found a large metal bank safe April 16 in a clearing on wooded property owned by the Salisbury Township School District off E. Emmaus Avenue. The safe, which police described as heavy enough to require a forklift, was tucked behind a tree and appeared to have been burned and was missing a door. Police said they do not know if the safe was stolen.

• Photos (2)

Salisbury Police to 'Take Back' Prescription Drugs

A “Take Back” Day to collect expired, unwanted or unused prescription drugs will be held Saturday.

The fourth “Take Back” Day to collect expired, unwanted or unused prescription drugs will be held across Lehigh County from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 28. You can safely dispose of old medicines by taking them to the Salisbury Township Police Department, 3000 S. Pike Ave., Allentown, Pa. Police officers will accept controlled, non-controlled and over-the-counter medications -- no questions asked -- as part of the “Take Back” program, which is nationwide.  The first National Take Back Day was held in 2010. During the first three collection events in 2010 and 2011, a total of 1,446 pounds of drugs were collected in Lehigh County, according to information provided by the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office. Nationwide last fall…

• Photos (1)

LCTI on Lockdown After Nearby Armed Robbery

Lehigh Career and Technical Institute takes precautions as police search for armed home invader

Lehigh Career and Technical Institute (LCTI) is on lockdown after an armed home invasion was reported in a nearby neighborhood.  According to WFMZ, the robbery took place in a home on Sand Spring Rd. in Schnecksville late this morning. State police first reported the robbery to LCTI administrators as a precaution, stating the robber was still at large.  Subscribe to breaking news alerts to get the latest updates from Salisbury Patch Administrators stressed to WFMZ that the lockdown was only a precaution, and that all enterences to the school campus were being monitered by police.  No word yet from Salisbury Township School District on how many students are currently at LCTI from the district.   

• Photos (1)

Crime and Fire

At Least 7 Reported Hurt in Lower Macungie Crash

Accident with rescue is on Hamilton Boulevard near Interstate 78, scanner reports say.

Seven or eight patients reportedly were hurt Saturday night in a serious accident requiring rescue in Lower Macungie Township, according to scanner reports. At least five ambulances were dispatched about 8:25 p.m. to Hamilton Boulevard and Interstate 78 for a motor vehicle accident with trapped victims, according to scanner reports. An unconfirmed report stated a car was overturned with three children trapped. A transmission from the EMS officer in charge confirmed seven or eight patients, but did not detail the severity or age. A later transmission from the fire officer in charge stated that two victims were extricated. Three vehicles were involved, according to an emergency news service. No details about the cause of the accident were …

• Photos (1)

Dead Chicken Nailed to Tree

Salisbury Township Police found a dead chicken nailed to a tree in Walking Purchase Park, symbols written on board.

A caller reported a dead chicken nailed to a board on a tree Monday in Walking Purchase Park near Cardinal Drive, Salisbury Township Police said. Police said there were symbols written on the board. A description of the symbols was not available. The chicken had apparently been dead for awhile, police said.

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Carl W

9:37 am on Friday, May 4, 2012

Maybe he refused to cross the road???   more ›