The story has been the same each of the last seven years. As the hot and muggy weather of July approaches, the night sky begins to become illuminated with loud bursts of color. The flashes and bangs tend to hit their crescendo on the Fourth of July, as revelers celebrate America’s birthday with explosions. And […]
A Kutztown man faces felony charges after authorities in Bucks County accused him of selling fentanyl-laced cocaine to a friend who then fatally overdosed in 2022. William R. Wright, 38, formerly of Springfield Township, Bucks County, was arrested June 18 following a lengthy investigation by Berks County detectives in cooperation with Springfield police, police said. […]
A Berks County woman has been accused of stealing about $90,000 from her elderly uncle by fraudulently taking control of his financial accounts to buy herself merchandise and pay for trips to Atlantic City casinos. Tracy L. Hoffman, 58, whose last known address is in the 3200 block of Garfield Road in Muhlenberg Township, remained […]
A group of young males rummaged through at least five vehicles in Womelsdorf, state police reported Wednesday. Troopers from the Reading station responded about 9 a.m. Tuesday to investigate overnight thefts of items from inside vehicles parked in the 200 block of West Franklin Street. One of the victims told a trooper that she saw […]
State police are investigating the thefts of three dirt bikes from a Maxatawny Township neighborhood. Troopers from the Reading station were called about 2 p.m. on June 16 to the first block of Sweet Corn Drive off Krumsville Road after the thefts were discovered. The off-road motorcycles were believed to have been stolen between 9:30 […]
A Lebanon County woman is accused of nearly draining the bank account of a care-dependent relative in Reading, leaving the victim with outstanding utility bills with shut-off notices. Mary S. Shealer, 58, turned herself in to Berks County detectives Thursday to face the charges. Shealer of Newmanstown, who formerly resided in Lake Wynonah, Schuylkill County, […]
Illegal drugs worth as much as $45,000 if sold on the street were seized when members of the Berks County Drug Task Force served search warrants on a West Reading man, his car and his residence, investigators reported Friday. Eric E. Delacruz, 36, was arrested late Thursday morning when he arrived in front of his […]
State authorities have accused a Bernville-area woman of fraudulently receiving more than $2,800 in government food benefits by failing to report income from her employer while she was on maternity leave. Heather M. Bailey, 40, of the 5700 block of Mt. Pleasant Road, Penn Township, remained free to await a hearing after arraignment Wednesday night […]
Natalie M. Classen rarely went out. In one of the tragic ironies in her murder — one that prosecutors have called another senseless act of gun violence by a teenager — Classen was fatally shot by someone she never met on a northeast Reading street corner last June as she walked home with a group […]
A Cumru Township man charged with attempted murder of a housemate — a woman who police said was on a cellphone video call with a female friend when she was stabbed in the stomach with a steak knife — is in custody after eluding capture for five weeks. Zachary D. Webb was captured Monday night […]
A Reading man who was accused of running from the scene of a fatal car crash in northwestern Berks County and eluding a search by ground and air in 2001 has been captured after nearly 22 years as a fugitive. Pedro Caldron Ortiz, 45, was captured over the weekend by Pennsylvania State Police from the […]
The Schuylkill Valley School Board is preparing to finalize a 2024-25 budget that would raise taxes for property owners in the district, and board members say there is a single reason for the increase. A new county-run youth shelter is preparing to open this summer in Bern Township. And because it’s in the district, Schuylkill […]