Vacation parking permits offered Coroner rules infant’s death a homicide

For $25, Allentown’s street-parking residents can now buy a little peace of mind while vacationing.

The Allentown Parking Authority has launched a vacation permit program that offers residents long-term parking at the Spiral Deck, 836 Linden St.

This precludes residents from violating the city’s ban on parking in the same spot on city streets for more than 72 hours. Tickets start at $35, and vehicles can be towed at the owner’s expense.

By purchasing a vacation permit, residents can also avoid a street sweeping ticket, which starts at $20.

Each permit is good for up to a week, and city residents can purchase up to two permits per vehicle per calendar year. In other words, you can park at the Spiral Deck for up to two straight weeks for $50.

Residents must provide a driver’s license and valid vehicle registration to purchase a permit.

The vacation permit doesn’t mean you are exempt from complying with the authority’s other garage parking restrictions. Those include areas designated as “no parking,” 15-minute spaces, authorized parking spaces, electric vehicle charging spaces, and head-on parking only.

The parking authority also encourages residents and others who work in the city to sign up for its CodeRed community notification system. That system will send up-to-date information about street closures, event parking information, street cleaning routes and emergencies, among other things.

Text “APAalert” to 99411 and then click on the provided link to register.

Dwayne Carter, 28, of Allentown was found with gunshot wounds in a car in the 200 block of North Jordan Street, between West Chew and Russell streets, around 4 p.m., Jan. 26. He died a short time later at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest.

Smith was taken into custody by Easton and Allentown police and U.S. marshals three days later in Wilson Borough. He is being held in the county jail without bail.

— Laurie Mason Schroeder

The Monroe County Coroner’s office has ruled that a 2-month-old girl’s death was a homicide caused by multiple skull fractures, authorities said Friday.

Ryann Bacchus was pronounced dead March 19 at Pinehurst Rentals on Route 447, north of Route 390, in Barrett Township, coroner Thomas Yanac Jr. said.

A police investigation led to child-welfare-endangerment charges against Lamont Bacchus, 31, and Amanda Green, 28, both of New Castle, Delaware; and Tony Kristiansen, 29, of Barrett Township.

The investigation is ongoing and homicide charges have not been filed against anyone, Monroe County District Attorney’s Office detective Eric Kerchner said in a Friday news release.

Bacchus, Green and Kristiansen were arraigned March 20 and placed in Monroe County Correctional Facility under $300,000 bail, $250,000 bail and $100,000 bail, respectively.

Pocono Mountain Regional Police, state police and the district attorney’s office are investigating circumstances surrounding the infant’s death, and released no other details.