The (Allentown) Morning Call says Lehigh County First Assistant District Attorney Steven Luksa notified the court last week that he will seek capital punishment if 25-year-old Enrique Ortiz of Allentown is convicted of first-degree murder.
Defense attorney David Nichols declined comment, saying he hadn't yet seen the relevant documents.
Ortiz is charged with criminal homicide, terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person and other counts in the Jan. 7 death of 22-year-old Hagos Mezgebo. The victim was from Tigray, Ethiopia but had been living and working in Allentown.
Authorities have said that the two men apparently didn't know each other, and it may have been mistaken identity.
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Information from: The Morning Call, http://www.mcall.com