Mom Charged in Beating Death of 5-Year-Old Son

Doctors performed surgery but were unable to save a boy who was beaten by his mother, according to the Lehigh County DA.

A 24-year-old Allentown woman has been charged with homicide in the death of her 5-year-old son in November 2012. Jessica Sharelle Adams also is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a third-degree felony, for allegedly striking the child numerous times on various parts of the child’s body and engaging in a continued course of conduct involving physical abuse. Related story: Mom Sentenced for Trying to Pull Son's Arms Off According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by an Allentown police officer in the Special Victims Unit: At 9:16 p.m. Nov. 29, Allentown police responded to an apartment at 107 N. 12th St. to assist emergency medical personnel in the case of a 5-year-old boy who was unconscious and not breathing. The …

• Photos (1)

Rape Plot Targeted Real Estate Agents, DA Says

State Police at Fogelsville and Berks-Lehigh Regional Police investigated a report by a saleswoman for Pulte Homes in Upper Macungie. Arrests do not indicate a conviction.

  A 29-year-old Bucks County man has been charged with intending to subdue and sexually assault real estate agents by luring them into model homes, according to a press release from the Lehigh County District Attorney's office. Frank A. Yeager, of 111 Hickory Lane, West Rockhill Township, was charged Friday after an investigation by State Police at Fogelsville and Berks-Lehigh Regional Police. Police said he took steps toward committing the crimes. Yeager is charged with one count of criminal attempt rape, two counts of carrying firearms without a license, and one count of possessing instruments of crime, a misdemeanor of the first degree, according to the prepared release. He was arraigned through Central Booking by District Judge Michael…

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)

Betsy Hunt

11:09 am on Sunday, March 3, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8r6CY5UZyw   more ›

Emmaus Man Charged as Bicycling Bandit

An Emmaus man has been charged as the 'Bicycling Bandit' who allegedly robbed stores in four Lehigh County towns, including Coopersburg.

A 31-year-old Emmaus man is facing charges as the "Bicycling Bandit" who allegedly robbed six convenience stores and beer distributors in October and November, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney's office. The alleged robber is Steven Felton of 617 1/2 Walnut St., Emmaus. One of his targets, authorities say, was a Coopersburg gas station. Police from Emmaus, Allentown and Whitehall, along with members of the Lehigh County Drug Task Force, arrested Felton at his Emmaus address Friday. He was arraigned Friday night by District Judge Michael Pochron of Salisbury Township and committed to Lehigh County Prison. His bail was set at $300,000.  According to court documents, Felton is charged in the following robberies: According to …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Alleged Bath Salts Ring Raided

Allentown-based distributor allegedly sold bath salts and other synthetic drugs to three states, authorities said.

Man Arrested for Killing Lehigh County Woman

Jonathan Nunez, 20, of Allentown is charged with killing Kimberly Cardona, whose body was found July 5 along Lanze Lane in Salisbury Township.

An Allentown man has been charged with killing 20-year-old Kimberly Cardona, whose body was found July 5 in a wooded area of Salisbury Township. Jonathan Nunez, 20, of 253 E. Fairview St. was charged with homicide Thursday, according to a release from the Lehigh County District Attorney's office. Cardona's body had been found by a man walking his dogs in the evening in the 2700 block of Lanze Lane, Salisbury Township. Nunez was to be arraigned in Lehigh County Central Booking. According to the release, the arrest affidavit states: Cardona, 20, of Whitehall Township had been missing since July 4, according to her family. An autopsy by the Lehigh County Coroner's office revealed she died sometime after 7 p.m. July 4 of blunt and sharp trauma…

• Photos (1)

New Lehigh County Victim/Witness Coordinator Named

Kimberly J. Mitchell-Silvestri will succeed Susan J. Fritsch, who is retiring as the Lehigh County Victim/Witness Unit coordinator.

Kimberly J. Mitchell-Silvestri has been named the new victim/witness coordinator for the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office. She succeeds Susan J. Fritsch, who is retiring in July 2012 after 18 years with the victim/witness unit and seven years as coordinator, according to a release from the district attorney's office. As the victim/witness coordinator, Mitchell-Silvestri, 41, of South Whitehall, will be responsible for delivering a broad array of services to victims and witnesses of crimes. She will be responsible for program development, including educating the public about victim issues and recruiting program resources. Mitchell-Silvestri, who has worked in the field for more than 12 years, will start as coordinator on July 9. She…

• Photos (1)

Man Charged in More Than 40 Burglaries

Police say a man they arrested in more than 40 burglaries in Salisbury and surrounding areas wore a GPS monitoring device during house arrest that showed he was in the area of the burglaries.

An Allentown man has been charged with committing 41 residential burglaries and five attempted burglaries – sometimes two to three a week – from Oct. 15, 2011, to Feb. 14, 2012, in Allentown, Bethlehem, Fountain Hill and Salisbury Township, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney's office. Herman Ojeda, 37, of 941 Turner St., Apt. 1, Allentown, was charged on Tuesday, March 13, 2012, and was scheduled to be arraigned at Lehigh County Central Booking, the district attorney said. According to the news release: Before the charges were filed, Ojeda had been incarcerated on an alleged probation violation. Police said that an estimated total of $98,224 was taken in the burglaries. Among the items stolen were jewelry, collector coins, …

• Photos (2)

A Father's Heartbreak: Cody Scheetz Remembered

The father of Cody Scheetz, 20, ponders his accidental shooting death in Salisbury Township earlier this year.

There were those moments shortly after Cody Scheetz died on March 31, 2011 that his father wished he could turn back time. The family would have gathered at Cody’s grandparents’ house on Americus Drive in Salisbury Township, as they would every Thursday. Cody, a happy-go-lucky 20-year-old, would not have gone downstairs yet to wake his grandfather sleeping on the couch to tell him dinner is ready.  He would not have seen the guns. He would not have picked up one of the pistols. He would not have said, “It’s loaded.” He would not have accidentally shot himself. He would not be dead. But Chris Scheetz lives with the reality that his oldest son is gone forever. He sees this everyday when he visits his son’s grave at Resurrection Cemetery in …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (5)

Wendy Solomon

7:02 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012

Story has been corrected.   more ›

DA: Death of Gunshot Victim Cody Scheetz Was Accidental

Cody Scheetz of South Whitehall had died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen on March 31, 2011. The shooting occurred at his grandparents' home in Salisbury Township.

The death of a 20-year-old gunshot victim has been ruled accidental. Cody C. Scheetz, of 312 S. 34th St., South Whitehall, had died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen on March 31, 2011. The accidental shooting had occurred at his grandparents' home in Salisbury Township. Lehigh County District Attorney James B. Martin and Lehigh County Coroner Scott M. Grim announced the ruling Friday in a prepared release. “The results of DNA testing were recently obtained, and it appears that the young man was putting a .38-caliber revolver, which was owned by his grandfather, into his waistband when it discharged,” Martin said in the release. “The case is closed, and no charges will be filed.” Salisbury Township police had been dispatched at 6:05 p.m. on…

• Photos (2)