Pennsylvania State Police Reports

SWAT Team Nabs Emmaus Man in Hotel Standoff

Matthew Michael Lerch of 25 N. 3rd St., Emmaus, was arrested Monday night following a standoff in a Hanover Township hotel.

An Emmaus man was arrested last night following a six-hour standoff in which he barricaded himself in a hotel room in Hanover Township (Lehigh County), police said. Matthew Michael Lerch, 39, who has several warrants for his arrest in Lehigh County, was registered as a guest in the Knights Hotel, according to state police at Bethlehem. When police arrived at the hotel about 1 p.m., Lerch barricaded himself in his room and refused to leave. The third floor of the hotel was eventually evacuated, since police could not determine if Lerch had any weapons. Police negotiators ultimately were able to convince Lerch to surrender about 6:30 p.m Monday. He was not armed, police said. Lerch was taken to Lehigh County Prison. Lerch lives at 25 N. …

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Man Tied to Vehicle Break-in Spree Arrested

Ian Shoemaker, 29, was apprehended three weeks after Nazareth police issued a warrant for his arrest; he is tied to vehicle break-ins that also involve a Nazareth mom and two teenage boys.

Police arrested a Lehigh Valley man over the weekend, more than three weeks after court records said he is facing 410 criminal counts related to a vehicle break-in spree based in Nazareth. Ian Scott Shoemaker, 29, of the unit block of N. Main St., Nazareth, was taken into custody in Plainfield Township after claiming to be a Nebraska resident planning to take a bus back home the next day. The break-in spree, according to the records, also involved Christine Petchonka, 46, also of Nazareth, who is accused of driving her 16-year-old son and his friend, also 16, as they broke into unlocked vehicles. Shoemaker also was in the car during the spree, the records say. At the time of Petchonka’s arrest, Nazareth Police Chief Thomas Trachta …

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Listening Post

Residents Talk About Arrest of Diner Owner

More shocking news about a local business, the Emmaus Diner, has people buzzing.

Emmaus residents share their reaction to yesterday's news about the owner of the Emmaus Diner being charged, along with two others, with stealing $260,000 from an elderly Emmaus woman.

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