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.
Former Roseto police chief convicted of threatening to kill his wife
Updated 12:24 PM;
The former Roseto police chief was convicted Tuesday with 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 release from 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 s t again,” referencing a prior divorce, the papers say.
Dealer’s dealer charged in drug death of former Pen Argyl wrestling great, authorities say
Updated May 03, 2021;
Such a charge remains rare in Northampton County.
On Friday, Jerry Suarez Gutierrez, 38, of the 300 block of North Eighth Street in Allentown, was charged with selling the fentanyl to Ferrante that would kill Racciato, the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office reports.
Taking the charge to the second level in a Northampton County drug death investigation may be unique to this case, District Attorney Terry Houck said Monday.
Typically when a drug user suffers a fatal overdose, the only witness to the transaction has died, Houck explained about the rarity of such charges.