Ditch Outdated Drugs Saturday at Macungie PD

Macungie and Alburtis police will collect outdated and unwanted prescriptions medications on Saturday.

The sixth National Take Back Day drug collection will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at locations across Lehigh County including:   You can dispose of capsules, pills, including pet medications, and liquids. Syringes or Sharps will not be accepted. Residents who dispose of medications will remain anonymous, as has been the case in the last five collections, and no questions will be asked. The amount of unwanted and expired drugs collected during the past Take Back Day events has been staggering.  During the last five collection events in 2010, 2011 and 2012, a total of 3,269 pounds of drugs were collected in Lehigh County alone. The event helps keep drugs from getting into the hands of children who want to experiment with them or …

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Borough of Macungie

Macungie PD Rolls Out New Patrol Car

A new patrol car delivered Monday is immediately put into service.

The Macungie Police Department took delivery of a 2013 Ford Police Interceptor on Monday, and the new car was put into service immediately, Macungie Police Chief Edward Harry said. It will replace will replace Car 702, a Chevrolet Impala, he said, and will carry the same number. The new car is black and white, a trend many police cars currently display. Police cars were originally black and white, Harry said, but for a time became all white, though he doesn't know the reason. The new MPD car 702 was purchased at KME/Kovatch in Nesquehoning for about $42,000 which includes the computer and radio. Harry said he is saving $5,000 by by transferring the in-car video from one of the other cars to the new one. The police department and the …

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Crime and Fire

25 Phone Calls in 1 Day is Harassment, Police Say

Victim receives more than 25 calls in one day, according to Macungie police.

Charged: John David Serfass, 41, of 1600 Owl Creek Road, Lehighton, with harassment; called a woman at her work place at 175 W. Main St. more than 13 times in an hour March 7 after being told not to contact her; victim received more than 25 calls in one day, police said; Serfass to receive summons to appear before Magisterial District Judge Donna Butler of Emmaus. Charged: Raymond Sigler, 33, of 527 Mountaintop Lane, Allentown, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia at 9:27 p.m. March 6; small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia found during a traffic stop in the 200 block of Cotton Street, police said; summons to be sent for Sigler to appear before Magisterial District Judge Donna Butler of Emmaus. These Macungie incidents …

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Crime and Fire

Raging Man Carried from Home By 6 Officers, Police Say

Macungie police responded to a domestic disturbance in which a woman was pushed into a wall, officers report.

An alcohol-fueled domestic disturbance inside a Macungie home brought six officers from four departments, a hospital visit and eventually police charges, according to police. Macungie police responded at 9:20 p.m. March 7 to the home at 136 Village Walk Drive, according to a department news release. Resident James Mosher, 44, pushed a woman into a wall. Officers attempted to speak with Mosher, but he became agitated and uncooperative, police said. Additional officers continued to arrive as the situation escalated. Mosher refused to cooperate with police and was told he was under arrest for the physical confrontation with the woman, police said. When his belligerence continued, the six police officers teamed to carry him from the residence …

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Crime and Fire

Driver Was Under Influence of Pot, Police Say

Zionsville man was found with an ounce of marijuana, Macungie officers report. Blood test results confirm he was under the influence.

An Upper Milford Township man recently was charged with driving under the influence and possession of marijuana, according to Macungie police. Kevin Michael Beers, 20, of 5084 W. Wendi Drive, Zionsville, was stopped at 1:40 a.m. Feb. 16 in the 900 block of Willow Lane for an unspecified traffic violation, police said. The officer smelled a strong odor of suspected marijuana, police said, and appeared to be impaired. About an ounce of marijuana was confiscated. Beers was taken to the Lehigh County D.U.I. Center where blood was drawn for testing. Police said the results showed that marijuana was present in his system. Charges were filed with Magisterial District Judge Donna Butler of Emmaus, police said.

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Crime and Fire

Taser Used on Man Who Attacked Officer, Police Say

Man was talking incoherently and would not leave Macungie apartment, a borough officer reports.

A Macungie police officer used a Taser® recently to subdue a man who was speaking incoherently before turning on him, according to a department release. Police said that the man, Michael J. Mason, 35, no permanent address, was not injured in the altercation. But they did say the incident started when they were called to 10 W. Main St., Apt. 5 for a report of a disturbance. Once there, they found the apartment's lessee -- unnamed by police -- who said that Mason was speaking incoherently and refused to leave. When police confronted Mason, he attacked the officer, police said. The unnamed officer used the Taser to subdue Mason and arrest him, police said. Mason was taken to the Lehigh County Central Booking Center on charges of simple …

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Borough of Macungie

2 of 3 Controversial GPS Units Already Installed in Police Cars

One Macungie Police vehicle is yet to received the new equipment.

In an update to Macungie Council at its Feb. 4 meeting, Mayor Rick Hoffman announced that two of the three private GPS units he has been wanting to have installed in Macungie police cars have been put in place. All police cars in Lehigh County are equipped with county-monitored GPS systems. The new system, reintroduced at the Jan. 7 meeting, would be additional. Macungie Police Chief Edward Harry has said that the private units Hoffman is installing pose a security risk to police officers. An unfair labor practices grievance has been filed by the Macungie Police Department bargaining unit as a result. The software needed to monitor them, however, has not yet been installed. If completed, Hoffman will be able to monitor borough police cars …

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Borough of Macungie

Macungie Council Names, Approves New Officer

Richton Penn is the newest member of the member of the Macungie Police Department.

In a split vote on Monday, Macungie Council made the hiring of a 30-hour-per-week police officer a reality. As of Feb. 4, Richton Penn, 28, who has been working with Macungie Police since June 2012 was named to the much debated position. At the Jan 21 meeting council voted to fill the position due to extended absences of some Macungie officers who are facing some medical issues. However, like the Jan. 21 meeting, the Feb. 4 meeting was not without contention. Council members Jean Nagle and Gregory Hutchison voted against filling the position and hiring Penn. Once the vote was taken, Nagle said she did not think that using a 30-hour officer was the way to deal with the absences facing the Macungie Police Department this year. Council …

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My 2 Cents

10:38 am on Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Well put Dave!   more ›

Borough of Macungie

Macungie Council Votes to Hire 30-Hour Officer

Macungie Police Chief Edward Harry says he has a candidate in mind.

Macungie Council voted at its Jan. 21 meeting to allow Police Chief Edward Harry to hire another officer who will work a 30-hour week -- almost four 8-hour shifts -- as per the current police collective bargaining agreement. Money for the hiring was provided in the 2013 budget, but at the time council voted on the budget member Gregory Hutchison said he was not in favor of the hiring. He wasn't any more in favor at the recent meeting. "I said I would put money in the budget for it, not that I would vote for [hiring a part-time officer]. I still won't," Hutchison said. Council President Christopher Becker explained the Macungie Police Department's necessity: several full-time officers need time off for medical purposes and someone to cover …

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Responsible Citizen

9:43 am on Friday, January 25, 2013

I totally agree!!!! Debra Cope possesses the courage and strength of character to ALWAYS do what is right for the borough of Macungie!! She IS our unsung hero! Thank you Ms. Cope!!! You serve your position well!   more ›

Crime and Fire

Macungie Traffic Stop Yields Drug-related Charge, Police Say

The Lancaster County man also was charged with driving with a suspended license, officers report.

A recent traffic stop in Macungie brought trouble for a Lancaster County man, according to police. Shawn Reppert, 25, of Lititz was stopped at 1 a.m. Jan. 18 at Chestnut and Race streets for an unspecified traffic violation, according to Macungie police. Reppert was found to be driving under suspension, but also was found with drug paraphernalia with methamphetamine residue, police said. He was taken to Lehigh County Central Booking in Allentown and arraigned on both charges before Magisterial District Judge David Harding. Bail was set at $5,000, according to county court records. Blood was drawn and additional charges may be brought upon receipt of toxicology test results to determine whether Reppert was driving under the influence, …

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