District Attorney Jim Martin is pleased to announce that members of the Lehigh County Gang Task Force received an award from the East Coast Gang Investigators Association. The Association assists members of law enforcement in sharing gang-related information between their departments and agencies and offers training and education to members of the community in street gang awareness and identification.

The award was presented to members of the task force Sept. 25 at the association’s annual meeting. The award was given for “superior leadership and teamwork involving gang investigations.” It specifically acknowledged the task force’s work related to the murder of Charles Bryant, 16, Aug. 5, 2013, in the 900 block of Oak Street in Allentown.

Sgt. Christopher McCarty, of the Allentown Police Department (APD), who is the former Gang Intelligence Detective for APD, nominated members of the task force who worked on that case for the award.

Task Force members who were nominated based on their involvement include: Julia Kocis, Director of the Regional Investigation and Intelligence Center (RIIC), and her co-workers Chief Criminal Analyst Kara Nyamuomba and Criminal Analyst Ashley Lovett; Det. John Brixius and former task force member Det. Raymond Ferraro, both of the Allentown Police Department; Jason Baer, Jennifer Grim, Kurt Ruane, and Mike Zagorski, of the Lehigh County Adult Probation Gang Supervision Unit; and Chief Deputy District Attorney Bethany S. Zampogna.

Two men were charged in relation to Mr. Bryant’s murder. Tyrieff Hart and Joshua Livingston pleaded guilty to Murder of the Third Degree and Criminal Conspiracy to Commit Murder of the Third Degree at their initial court appearances. Hart was sentenced to 10 to 25 years; Livingston was sentenced to 16 to 32 years.

CDDA Zampogna accepted the award on behalf of the other task force members who were honored. In her acceptance speech, she emphasized that cooperation between various law enforcement groups was instrumental in solving this crime. She also stated, “The RIIC’s intelligence gathering system proved to be an invaluable tool.”

A major component in solving the case was the use of the RIIC and the RIIC Gang Intelligence Database. Construction of the database was funded through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), the Trexler Trust, and forfeiture funds.

In this case, the RIIC assisted in collecting intelligence as well as documenting the defendants’ and victim’s gang affiliation and edited video.

“I want to congratulate Chief Deputy District Attorney Zampogna and the other members of the Gang Task Force honored with this award. I am pleased to see the work done on this case recognized by the East Coast Gang Investigators Association,” said Martin. “Lehigh County is fortunate to have such dedicated members of law enforcement, adult probation officers, and the tremendous resource, both the technical assets and the professional staff, of the RIIC.”