Do you get to vote for a Lehigh Valley district judge? A guide to who’s running where.
Updated 10:05 AM;
Voters across the Lehigh Valley are choosing a number of judicial seats in the May 18 primary, including magisterial district judges.
District judges handle preliminary arraignments and preliminary hearings in criminal cases to determine if the cases will move on to county court, as well as landlord-tenant disputes, traffic offenses and civil actions where the amount claimed does not exceed $12,000.
District judges serve six-year terms, and are paid an annual salary of $93,338. Some incumbents are running unopposed this year, and incumbents are identified on this list by an “I” after their name.
One-punch homicide lands Wilson Borough man in prison for up to 6 years
Updated May 10, 2021;
Posted May 10, 2021
Calvin Brown Jr. surrendered July 1, 2019, to face a homicide charge out of Wilson Borough.Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com
Facebook Share
A Wilson Borough man who punched his friend and inadvertently killed him was sentenced Monday to three to six years in prison, according to a news release.
Calvin Brown, 27, killed Dennis Hodge Jr., 28, during a dispute June 26, 2019, in the 900 block of South 25th Street in Wilson Borough, according to the news release from the Northampton County District Attorney’s office. The men lived in apartments in that block.
Ex-NCC staffer sentenced to up to 23 months in prison for child porn
Updated May 05, 2021;
An Allentown man will spend 10-23 months behind bars for possession of child pornography, after he was caught with the images at his job at Northampton Community College.
Alan West, 63, faces four years’ probation following his release and will have to register as a sexual offender for 15 years, the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office said.
Judge Stephen Baratta handed down the sentence Wednesday.
“West was feverishly clicking to close the open windows,” the DA’s office said in a news release announcing West’s sentence.
Former Pa. police chief convicted of threatening to kill his wife
Updated May 06, 2021;
The former Roseto police chief was convicted Tuesday of threatening to kill his wife, according to a news release.
Mark Gwozdz was convicted of making terroristic threats after a two-day trial, according to the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office.
Court papers say he made the threats Oct. 4, 2019, during an argument with his wife, Michelle Gwozdz, over an impending divorce.
Court papers say he told her, “I’ll kill you before I give you anything.” He added, “I’m not going through this (expletive) again,” referencing a prior divorce, the papers say.
Catasauqua man sought on charges of sexual assault of 3 children
Updated May 04, 2021;
A Catasauqua man is sought by police on a slew of charges alleging he sexually assaulted three children and raped one.
A warrant was issued Tuesday for Manuel Luis Santiago, 33, of the 1200 block of 3rd Street in Catasauqua, formerly of Easton.
The charges follow an investigation by Easton police that began last fall, according to the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office and an affidavit from police in Easton, where Santiago used to live.
According to the affidavit, Easton police were referred to two of the children by a Children and Youth agency in November. The older was 11 when Santiago allegedly began touching her in 2015 or 2016; the younger was 12 when it allegedly began in 2017 or 2018, the affidavit says.