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Christopher E. Potter was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:36 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, according to the coroner's release.
Elvis Miguel Perez, 34, of Bethlehem, has been charged with the following felonies in connection with this fatal shooting: Criminal Homicide, Person Not to Possess, Use, Manufacture, Control, Sell or Transfer Firearms, and Possession of a Firearm with Altered Manufacture’s Number, the DA explained.
The fatal shooting happened in the 3400 block of Cambridge Circle in South Whitehall Township around 6 a.m., the coroner detailed.
Potter was found in a first-floor bathroom, the DA said. Potter appeared to be suffering from two gunshot wounds and later succumbed to his injuries.
The cause of death appears to be gunshots and the manner was ruled a homicide, but an autopsy has been scheduled at the Lehigh County Coroner's Office and Forensic Center on Monday, Oct. 7, Buglio said.
A witness heard two gunshots and saw a man flee the home, according to the DA. Several residents in the area called about a man acting suspiciously in the area and running through yards near the Cambridge Circle home — that man was later identified as Perez. He was taken into custody about an hour after the shooting occurred, according to the DA and police.
"A handgun was found in a garbage can at a residence in close proximity to where Perez was taken into custody," the DA said, noting "that handgun is the same caliber as two shell casings found inside the home at 3439 Cambridge Circle."
Perez was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Jacob Hammond and he has been held in Lehigh County Jail without per state law on the charges.
His preliminary hearing will be at 11 a.m. Oct. 14, according to the DA and court records.
Perez has a criminal record and is a convicted felon for a 2008 burglary in Lehigh County, previous court dockets detail. He also has been convicted of a firearm offense in the county in 2017 and drug-related offenses in Schuylkill County in 2021.
In addition to the coroner's office, the South Whitehall Township Police Department, the Lehigh County Homicide Task Force, and the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office are investigating.
Additional information about Potter's life was not immediately available. His family is invited to email Daily Voice those details at jpikora@dailyvoice.com.
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