Police

Man Pushed Fisherman Who Couldn’t Swim Into Canal, Police Say

A Freemansburg man is facing charges after police say he mistakenly targeted a man who was fishing along a section of the Delaware & Lehigh Canal in the borough as someone who broke into his truck, and then pushed the elderly man–who was unable to swim due to a prior injury–into the water.

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The Delaware & Lehigh Canal in Freemansburg

A Freemansburg man is facing charges after police say he mistakenly targeted a man who was fishing along a section of the Delaware & Lehigh Canal in the borough as someone who broke into his truck, and then pushed the elderly man–who was unable to swim due to a prior injury–into the water.

Kerry Korpics Canal Assault

Kerry Korpics Jr., 36, of Freemansburg, in a public profile photo from Facebook

According to a story published on LehighValleyLive.com Monday, Kerry Alan Korpics Jr., 36, of the 200 block of Main Street, Freemansburg, approached the man and began screaming at him about the alleged break-in before allegedly kicking out a headlight on the victim’s van, knocking a lamp off a stand and shoving the man into the canal, where the man lost his phone.

The news website reported that Korpics also threatened to take the man’s life if anything was found missing from his garage, and told police that he went easy on his alleged victim because the man is elderly.

According to court records, Korpics is charged with terroristic threats (Misdemeanor 1), disorderly conduct (Misdemeanor 3), simple assault (Misdemanor 2), recklessly endangering another person (Misdemeanor 2) and two summary charges–harassment and criminal mischief–in the Sept. 4 alleged incident.

Following a preliminary arraignment before District Judge Alicia Zito Sunday, Korpics was committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $10,000 straight bail, court records state.

A preliminary hearing for Korpics is scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 5 before Zito.

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About the author

Josh Popichak

Josh Popichak is the owner, publisher and editor of Saucon Source. A Lehigh Valley native, he's covered local news since 2005 and previously worked for Berks-Mont News and AOL/Patch. Contact him at josh@sauconsource.com.

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