Fla. Homicide Suspects Were in Northeast Bethlehem

Two 19-year-olds from Orlando, Fla., wanted in the shooting death of a man there were captured Thursday afternoon in Bethlehem after leaving an apartment near Linden Street and Johnston Drive in the city’s Northeast.

Court records do not indicate what they were doing at the apartment at 1325 B Davann Drive or what connection they have to the residents. The U.S Marshal Service was part of the operation that led to the suspects’ capture.

Jamal Tercl Jackson and Manuel Luis Rey are two of six people suspected in the June 15 shooting death of Berson Michel, 24, inside his Orlando apartment, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The shooting occurred during a home invasion robbery, according to papers filed at the office of District Judge Joseph Barner of Lower Nazareth Township.

The Sentinel reports that court documents detailing the attack and each person’s suspected involvement have been sealed. It is not clear how the suspects knew one another or the victim, the Sentinel says.

According to a criminal complaint filed by Bethlehem Det. Bradford E. Jones:

• Around 1:15pm Thursday, received information from the U.S. Marshal Service that two males wanted in connection with an Orlando homicide were in the Davann Drive apartment.
• Marshals were doing surveillance at the apartment when the pair left and got into a gold Ford Taurus with a Florida registration.
• Jones and a city officer made a traffic stop about two miles south at E. Washington and Easton avenues – near -- and took the men into custody.
• Bethlehem police were in contact with the Orange County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office, which requested that the men be jailed until the sheriff’s office could send officials to Northampton County to extradite the pair.

The papers filed with Barner include information on outstanding warrants against Rey, who turned 19 on June 19.

He is alleged to have committed aggravated assault with a handgun during domestic violence and criminal mischief on April 25 in Orange County.

Another warrant accuses him of shooting into an occupied dwelling and aggravated assault with a firearm on May 25.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Rey was arrested in November on charges of carrying a concealed firearm, trespassing, eluding law enforcement and criminal mischief.

Jackson was arrested in May on burglary and theft charges. He was scheduled to stand before a judge next week, the Sentinel says.

Of the four other shooting death suspects listed by the Sentinel, one is 20, one is 18 and two are 17.

Barner, the on-duty district judge, arraigned Jackson and Rey Thursday night on a fugitive-from-justice charge. Bail was denied and they were committed to Northampton County Prison.