An Allentown man is facing charges in both Lower Saucon Township and Hellertown borough following his alleged theft of a child’s bicycle last Friday, May 17.
Luis Carmelo Galarza, 26, of Allentown, is facing misdemeanor charges in both Hellertown borough and Lower Saucon Township following his alleged theft of a child’s bicycle from outside the Dollar Tree on Leithsville Road. (Credit: Lower Saucon Township Police Department/Crimewatch)
According to a Crimewatch post published by the Lower Saucon Township Police Department Friday, shortly before 9 p.m. Luis Carmelo Galarza, 26, allegedly stole the bike from outside Dollar Tree, which is located at 1832 Leithsville Road in the Creekside Marketplace shopping center.
Lower Saucon police said Galarza then took the bike into Hellertown, where they said borough police apprehended him as he rode it on Main Street.
According to court documents, Galarza is charged with theft and receiving stolen property in Lower Saucon Township, and with tampering with/fabricating physical evidence, presenting false identification to law enforcement, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance in Hellertown. All of the charges he is facing are listed as misdemeanors.
The case dockets filed in Northampton County District Court 03-2-04 showed that Galarza is currently incarcerated in Northampton County Prison in lieu of a total of $35,000 bail. The bail for his charges in Lower Saucon Township is $10,000 and the bail for the charges filed against him in Hellertown is $25,000, according to the documents.
A preliminary hearing on both sets of charges was scheduled for Thursday, June 6 at 11:30 a.m. before District Judge Alan Mege.
No attorney was listed for Galarza in court papers.
Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty. This story was compiled using information from the Hellertown Police Department, the Lower Saucon Township Police Department and Northampton County court records.
He must have been on drugs. Who steals a child’s bike ? And then rides around town nearby ? An adult riding a child’s bike ? A dumb thing to do and expensive, with 35,000 bail. If it happened in the larger cities, he’d be released without bail and commit many more and worse crimes.