A drug deal that reportedly went wrong along a darkened section of the Saucon Rail Trail in Hellertown Tuesday night resulted in a teen needing emergency surgery after suffering injuries to his face and has led to the arrest of two men–David Michael Harris III, 19, of Hellertown, and Elijah Tyree Laws, 18, of Bethlehem–both of whom are charged with felony robbery, corruption of minors and theft, according to a Morning Call article published Wednesday which cites police and court records. Both men are charged with felony conspiracy to commit robbery and Harris is also charged with felony aggravated assault, according to court records.
David Michael Harris III in a public Facebook profile photo published on his Facebook page in April 2018. The photo is accompanied by the caption, “Live the path you choose.”
The robbery happened near the Thomas Avenue trailhead shortly before 9:49 p.m., which is when the victim reported to police that he’d been punched in the face by four attackers who he said then stole his bag containing marijuana and money, according to the Morning Call story, which states that the two other people who were allegedly involved in the attack are minors.
According to a source, the teenage victim of the assault suffered a broken jaw in the attack.
According to Harris’ public Facebook profile, he is employed by Subway and attended Saucon Valley High School.
As of Wednesday night, Harris is incarcerated in Northampton County Prison in lieu of $45,000 straight bail, with a preliminary hearing before District Judge Alan Mege scheduled for Oct. 31 at 9 a.m. at District Court 03-2-04 in Lower Saucon Township.
Court records indicate that Laws is also being held in Northampton County Prison in lieu of $30,000 straight bail, with a preliminary hearing on his charges scheduled to be held at the same time and place as Harris.
Elijah Tyree Laws, 19, makes hand symbols in a public Facebook profile photo from June 2017. His profile indicates that he attended Freedom High School and worked at McDonald’s.
