Closing arguments are today in the trial of the Bucks County man charged with shooting his father to death and then beheading him. Wednesday, 33-year-old Justin Mohn took the stand and said killing his father was "Plan B" after he hoped to arrest him for what Mohn said were false statements and treason. Mohn testified he shot his father after telling him he was arresting him. When Michael Mohn reached for the gun, his son shot him to death. Mohn testified his father committed treason by interfering in a lawsuit Mohn filed against the federal government, claiming he was being discriminated against for being an educated, straight, white man. When asked why he beheaded his father after killing him, Mohn said he didn't do it out of hatred for his father or to hurt his mother, but rather to send a message to federal government workers to meet his demands, which included their resignation and the cancelling of public debt.
Two men are in the hospital after they came in contact with a power line and were electrocuted. Allentown officials said the men hit a power line on North Twelfth Street yesterday while up in a lift. One of the men is in critical condition. The incident reportedly caused hundreds of nearby residents to lose electricity, but power has since been fully restored.
A Lehigh County man is in custody after authorities say he tried to meet who he thought was a juvenile, but was actually an undercover officer. Officials said 37-year-old Warren Batz of Slatington told a Bensalem police officer posing as a 13-year-old girl that he would pay her to hang out with him, and asked for explicit photos. Batz was arrested last week after he allegedly drove to the Bucks County township in an attempt to meet the juvenile. He faces multiple felony charges.
A 44-year-old homeless man is behind bars without bail on charges he shot another man in the face two times last week. Police say Carlos Oyola-Gonzalez is charged with attempted homicide after shooting the victim on June 30th in an apartment in the area of North Morris and West Allen streets in Allentown. Investigators say the shooting happened after Oyola-Gonzalez and the man had some sort of argument.
For the second time in about two months, somebody has stolen mail from the mailbox at 2nd and Bridge street in Catasauqua. Police there say an unknown amount of mail was taken from the box early Wednesday morning and they're urging anybody who put mail into that box on Tuesday to cancel payment on any checks they had mailed and to assume any mail in that box from Tuesday into Wednesday will not get to its destination.
Free LANTA bus service will return for Musikfest next month. ArtsQuest says LANTA’s Gold Line and free fares on Enhanced Bus Service (EBS) Blue & Green Lines for Musikfest will be available. There will be points west in Trexlertown to points east in Easton and stops will be made at several points on both the North Side and South Side of Bethlehem.
The ban on Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania was passed in 1873 as part one of the state's "blue laws," which banned certain activities on Sundays for religious reasons. Those days are now over. "The ban on Sunday hunting, I would say, doesn't make sense anymore for Pennsylvania's 850,000 hunters and sportsmen," Gov. Josh Shapiro said as he signed a bill that allows Sunday hunting in the Commonwealth. The changes will go into effect in 60 days, in time for Pennsylvania's deer season this fall. The Pennsylvania Game Commission will now decide which Sundays will be open for hunting beginning in September.
Pennsylvania State Police has released its Independence Day weekend statistics. State Police say this year's 803 crashes were 141 fewer than last year. However, a dozen people were killed in those crashes, matching last year's number. This year's 58 DUI-related crashes were nine fewer than a year ago. This year's numbers were spread over a four-day period, while last year's was over the span of five days.
Blue Marsh Lake is implementing new restrictions and service reductions. Lake officials recently announced the picnic areas at the Dry Brooks and State Hill Boat Launches will be closed for the rest of the season. WFMZ-TV reports the closures are in response to public health and safety concerns caused by the misuse of park areas by some visitors. Service reductions were initially announced at Blue Marsh Lake in April in response to staffing shortages.
A gathering in memory of the local firefighter who was killed at the Butler County Trump rally last summer is coming up this weekend. The Corey's Cruise memorial ride in honor of Corey Comperatore is planned for Saturday. Bikers will be gathering at Freeport Area High School starting at 7:00 a.m. and will head out at 11:00 a.m. The ride will end at No Offseason Sports in Russellton, where guests will enjoy live music, raffles, guest speakers, and fireworks.
Governor Phil Murphy has signed a handful of bills that will create a more reliable source of funding for school districts that are trying to expand their preschool programs. The bills will require the state Department of Education to provide grants to expand access to preschool for three and four-year-olds in districts where preschool education is not now available. Murphy says right now, more than half of the state's elementary-serving school districts offer free preschool.