24-Year-Old Kutztown Native Killed In Motorcycle Crash: Coroner
A Northampton man was killed in a late-night motorcycle crash in Salisbury Township, the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office announced on Thursday, Sept. 4.
Brandon C. Gehris, 24, was pronounced dead at 12:44 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 3, in the Emergency Department at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest, Coroner Eric Minnich said.
Gehris was the operator of a motorcycle that collided with a motor vehicle near South Cedar Crest Boulevard and Fish Hatchery Road at approximately 11:05 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 2, according to the release.
He had been wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, investiga…
62-Year-Old Man Gets Fatal Cocaine-Fentanyl Overdose From Neighbor In Kutztown
A drug dealer was sentenced this week in the 2022 overdose death of his Springfield Township neighbor, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday, June 26, 2025.
William Randall Wright, 39, formerly of Springfield and most recently residing in Kutztown, pleaded guilty before Common Pleas Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr. to three charges: Drug Delivery Resulting in Death, Criminal Use of a Communication Facility, and Involuntary Manslaughter, prosecutors said.
He admitted to selling the combination of cocaine and fentanyl that killed Steven Newhart, 62, inside the Scenic V…
Child Porn Crackdown: PA Trio Nabbed In Major Bust, DA Says
Three Berks County men have been arrested and charged in separate child pornography investigations, authorities said Friday, June 20.
The arrests of Christopher Escobar-Ledesma, 29, of Kutztown; Michael W. Leininger, 64, of Laureldale; and Michael E. Ransier, 72, of Exeter Township, follow a trio of tips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the Berks County District Attorney’s Office said.
The tips flagged disturbing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) shared online. Investigators traced each case to different web platforms — Google, Bing, an…
Kutztown Man Faked Landlord Role To Steal $14K From Opioid Housing Program: Berks DA
A Kutztown man posed as a landlord to steal thousands of dollars meant to help recovering addicts get housing, Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams announced on Thursday, May 22.
Kody A. Kirkland, 32, forged documents, faked pay stubs, and filed phony applications to cash in on the State Opioid Response (SOR) Rental Assistance Program, according to county detectives. The taxpayer-funded program, managed by the Treatment Access and Services Center, Inc. (TASC), was created to help people struggling with addiction keep a roof over their heads.
Instead, investigators say Kirkland turne…
23-Year-Old Woman Dies After Medical Emergency, Lehigh County Coroner Says
A Pennsylvania woman who suffered a severe asthma attack died after what her loved ones say was a delayed emergency response, and now they’re calling for change.
Azara F. Mapp, 23, of Maxatawny Township, was pronounced dead at 12:25 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest, according to the Lehigh County Coroner's Office on Monday, March 10. An autopsy was completed, but her cause and manner of death remain under investigation.
Mapp’s family and friends say her death was preventable. According to a GoFundMe campaign set up in her memory, she suffered a life-threate…
NJ Drummer Found Dead In Kutztown Dumpster Had Crawled In After Party: DA
A New Jersey drummer found dead at a Berks County dump on Saturday, Nov. 12 had crawled into a dumpster the night before, according to officials and those who knew him.
Kellen J. Bischoff, 19, of Manahawkin, NJ, was found dead at the Total Recycling Facility on Lincoln Road in Birdsboro just after 8:30 a.m., said District Attorney John T. Adams in a release Monday, Nov. 14.
Investigators were able to identify Bischoff by his "unique" tattoos, and eventually learned that he was visiting a family member in Kutztown, the DA said.
Loved ones had last seen the teen i…
Man Dead, Woman Hurt In Berks County Crash
A 41-year-old man was killed and a woman was injured in a car crash in Berks County on Friday, authorities said.
Zachary Korch, of Shoemakersville, was traveling north on Plum Creek Road in Penn Township around 11:30 p.m., when he drove across the southbound lane, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
Korch left the roadway and traveled across a grass area, down a dirt embankment and side-swiped a tree, state police said.
He then struck a second tree in a ditch, causing the 2005 Ford pickup truck to flip onto its roof, authorities said.
Korch was pronounced dead at the scene.
His …
