ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 An Allentown man arrested more than two years ago after a fatal stabbing outside an East Side hookah lounge is set to stand trial this fall.<\/p>\n
Isiah Yeager, 25, is accused of stabbing 29-year-old Kevin Tarafa multiple times during a fight inside Synergy Hookah Lounge during the early hours of June 18, 2023.<\/p>\n
Tarafa died about a block away, according to authorities.<\/p>\n
Yeager was arraigned more than six months later in January 2024 on a single charge of criminal homicide. <\/p>\n
After a series of status conferences and hearings over the past two years, he is due to stand trial Oct. 20, according to Lehigh County court records.<\/p>\n
Yeager has been in Lehigh County Jail since his arrest the morning of Tarafa\u2019s death, online records show.<\/p>\n
Tampering charges<\/p>\n
Four others are accused of tampering with evidence after Tarafa was stabbed inside the former Synergy Hookah Lounge on Union Boulevard.<\/p>\n
Authorities allege three \u2014 Stefhon Buchanan, 28, of Allentown; Kali Martin, 25, of Whitehall Township; and Jerome Joyner, 40, of Bethlehem \u2014 helped clean Tarafa\u2019s blood off the lounge\u2019s floor after he was dragged outside.<\/p>\n
Tarafa was found unresponsive in the 1600 block of East Greenleaf Street. He was pronounced dead there at 4:45 a.m. June 18, 2023, by the Lehigh County Coroner\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
A preliminary hearing for Martin is scheduled for Oct. 2; future court dates have not yet been set for the other three facing tampering charges.<\/p>\n
Lehigh County court records<\/p>\n
Robin Scott, 48, of Allentown, is accused of hiding the knife used during the stabbing. Scott was stopped by police after picking up two men \u201csuspiciously walking away\u201d from the hookah lounge after officers arrived, court documents state.<\/p>\n
Authorities said officers found the bloody knife wrapped in a sweatshirt inside Scott’s car. <\/p>\n
Criminal complaints were filed in mid-June, but all four appeared in court for the first time this month, online records show.<\/p>\n
A preliminary hearing for Martin is scheduled for Oct. 2; future court dates have not yet been set for the other three facing tampering charges.<\/p>\n
Promised crackdown<\/p>\n
Tarafa\u2019s fatal stabbing at Synergy Hookah Lounge led to the business\u2019 eventual closure.<\/p>\n
And city officials pledged to crack down on \u201cafter-hours\u201d businesses<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cCut the sh*t out. Please,\u201d the mayor to Allentown hookah lounge owners and employees at a news conference outside Synergy a week after Tarafa\u2019s death.<\/p>\n Mayor Matt Tuerk to hookah lounge owners and employees at a June 2023 news conference outside Synergy Hookah Lounge<\/p>\n City council members days later introduced a resolution that said they want to maintain the \u201csafety of our residents\u201d and protect them from \u201ctraffic, noise, loitering, and, often, drug sales that accompany the clubs.\u201d<\/p>\n The measure called on Mayor Matt Tuerk and his administration to take \u201can active role\u201d in enforcing the city\u2019s nuisance-abatement ordinance.<\/p>\n