Police Reports

State Police Will Conduct Sobriety Checkpoint

The Pennsylvania State Police at Bethlehem announced last week that they will conduct a sobriety checkpoint in Lehigh or Northampton County the weekend of Nov. 30-Dec. 1.

The holiday season is around the corner, and it's a reality that drinking and driving is often more prevalent at that time. So it's perhaps not a coincidence that Pennsylvania State Police at Bethlehem are planning to conduct a sobriety checkpoint somewhere in Lehigh or Northampton County the weekend of Nov. 30-Dec. 1. Police announced their planned DUI checkpoint in a press release Nov. 13. "The goal of a sobriety checkpoint is to reduce the number of alcohol and drug related fatal and serious crashes, and to reduce the number of DUI drivers on Pennsylvania's highways," police said. State troopers will systematically stop vehicles at the selected checkpoint location "to briefly observe drivers for articulable facts and/or behaviors …

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Police Name Individuals Arrested at DUI Checkpoint

Hellertown Police have released the names of some of the individuals arrested at an Aug. 4-5 DUI checkpoint. The checkpoint, which was set up at Route 412 and the on-ramp to eastbound I-78, was blamed for causing a traffic jam.

In press releases issued Tuesday and Wednesday, Hellertown Police named some of the individuals arrested for DUI at a checkpoint conducted Aug. 4-5 in the 1700 block of Main Street, near the on-ramp to I-78 East. In addition to numerous arrests, the DUI checkpoint was reponsible for some controversy, as it reportedly contributed to a traffic jam between Bethlehem's Sands casino and the busy interchange. The checkpoint was conducted during the first weekend of Musikfest, and was a joint effort led by Lower Saucon Township Police. Hellertown and Freemansburg Police also participated in the effort. According to borough authorities, the following persons were charged:

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Township-Led DUI Checkpoint Blamed for Traffic Jam

The DUI checkpoint Lower Saucon Township Police conducted at the Interstate 78 East on-ramp Aug. 4 resulted in eight DUI arrests along with a significant traffic backup in the City of Bethlehem.

The decision by Lower Saucon Township Police to conduct a DUI checkpoint near the Route 412 entrance to I-78 East during Musikfest has been questioned by Bethlehem Police Department officials, as well as some local businesses and members of the public who were ensnared in the traffic jam that resulted from the Aug. 4 checkpoint. Many of those motorists were leaving Musikfest, which began that weekend. In a story published Sunday by the Express-Times, LSTPD DUI Coordinator Robert Winters admitted that the location on the border of Bethlehem and Hellertown had not been used for a DUI checkpoint in six years, but said police were responsive to concerns about traffic on Route 412 once they were made aware of them. The 5-hour checkpoint …

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Man Charged With DUI, Cocaine Possession

Carlos Juan Cintron, 26, of 1215 E. Third St., Bethlehem, was arrested at a DUI checkpoint in Hellertown early Sunday, according to court records.

A stop at a Hellertown DUI checkpoint early Sunday produced not only a drunken driving charge but also a cocaine possession charge against a Bethlehem man, court records say. Carlos Juan Cintron, 26, pulled over at the DUI checkpoint in the 1700 block of Main Street, near the on-ramp to I-78 East, at 2:14am. Cintron was driving a black BMW. Borough Patrolman Matthew Andree, who filed a criminal complaint, said Cintron had red glassy eyes and smelled of alcohol. After Cintron got out of his car he tried to perform field sobriety tests, which police said he failed. Andree searched Cintron and in a cargo pants pocket allegedly found a sandwich baggie with a "large amount" of a white powdery substance that later tested positive as cocaine. …

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Police to Conduct Roving DUI Patrols This Summer

The Lower Saucon Township, Hellertown and Freemansburg police departments recently announced that they will be conducting roving DUI patrols and checkpoints over the summer.

Many people consume alcohol more frequently over the summer months, on account of picnics, barbecues and parties. However, local police want residents to know that if they decide to drink to excess, they should also decide not to drive. Police say they are already stepping up efforts to enforce DUI laws, in order to keep area roadways safe for everyone this summer. In a press release issued at the start of the Memorial Day weekend, Lower Saucon Township police announced that they will be conducting roving DUI patrols and checkpoints through September, as part of the effort. The Hellertown and Freemansburg police departments are also participating in the enforcement initiative. "The goal of the program is to deter impaired driving and to …

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Police Reports

Lower Saucon Township Police Blotter

The following information was supplied by the Lower Saucon Township Police Department. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.

The following alleged incidents have been reported by the Lower Saucon Township Police Department: Several Motorists Arrested for DUI at Route 378 Checkpoint On Aug. 20 police said several motorists were arrested at a DUI checkpoint operated by police on Route 378 in Lower Saucon Township. Among those arrested were Thomas Nagy, of the 100 block of Second St., Coopersburg, who police said had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .18 percent; Juan C. Vidal, of the 1600 block of Woodfield Drive, Lower Saucon, who allegedly had a BAC of .12 percent; and Matthew Aronson, of Arbor Lane, Clifton Park, N.Y., who allegedly had a BAC of .11 percent. The legal limit for blood alcohol concentration in Pennsylvania is .08 percent. Police …

Police Reports

Two Checkpoints Net 15 DUI Arrests, Police Announce

Lower Saucon Township and Hellertown police set up the checkpoints on routes 378 and 412 on Aug. 19 and Sept. 3

As part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Labor Day Impaired Driving Prevention Crackdown local police combined forces on Aug. 19 and Sept. 3 to operate DUI checkpoints on Route 378 in Lower Saucon Township and Route 412 in Hellertown, township police announced Sept. 4. The checkpoints "resulted in contacts with 1038 motorists" and led to "15 DUI arrests, seven underage drinking citations, 19 traffic citations, two possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia arrests, one possession with intent to deliver marijuana arrest and 107 warnings," police said. Township and borough police were assisted at the "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" checkpoints by officers from the City of Bethlehem, Lehigh Township, Walnutport, …

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Township Man Allegedly Fled DUI Checkpoint, Crashed Car

Lower Saucon Township police say that on July 22, Thomas Carpency fled a DUI checkpoint, crashed into a telephone pole and led officers on a brief chase before he was arrested.

A Lower Saucon Township man is facing a host of summary, misdemeanor and felony charges after allegedly fleeing a DUI checkpoint, crashing into a telephone pole and leading police on a brief chase along local roads July 22. According to a police department press release, Thomas Carpency, 27, of the 3500 block of Drifting Drive, was operating a vehicle while under the influence of a mixture of drugs including cocaine when he entered a DUI checkpoint on Applebutter Road at approximately 10:37pm. Carpency then reversed his vehicle "at a high rate of speed," crashed into a telephone police and led police on a brief chase, during which he turned off his lights, police said. According to police, the chase began on Applebutter Road, continued …

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