Bethlehem police said an off-duty state trooper helped catch a 15-year-old robbery suspect early Wednesday.
Police said the boy is being charged with robbery, reckless endangerment and harassment. Police did not release the teenager's name and said he is being charged as a juvenile.
The teen is being held in Northampton County Juvenile Detention and police said they are investigating if he may be connected to other recent robberies and attempted hold-ups.
Police said the teen tried to rob a 36-year-old man as the man walked home from work just after midnight near New Street and Union Boulevard. Police did not release the alleged victim's name.
The teen walked past the man, asking him for a lighter. The man told the teen he didn't have one. Moments later, police said, the teen attacked the man from behind and knocked him to the ground as he tried to grab his wallet and cellphone.
Police said off-duty Trooper Louis Rosenthal was jogging in the area and saw the attack. Rosenthal ran over to help and the boy fled.
Rosenthal gave chase, but the teen evaded him. Bethlehem police officers surrounded the neighborhood to search for the robber.
Officers saw some broken wood fence parts and found the teen hiding under the rear deck of a West Garrison Street home.
Police said the 36-year-old man suffered minor injuries.
Bethlehem police Chief Mark DiLuzio said Rosenthal's actions were "outstanding." Rosenthal works for the Bureau of Gaming Enforcement and is stationed at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem.
"[Rosenthal] intervened, thus stopping the assault and robbery of a citizen and stopping the possibility of serious bodily injury to that citizen," DiLuzio said in a news release.
Copyright 2014 - The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
