Carbon County court – guilty pleas
A Montgomery County man pleaded guilty in Carbon County court on Monday to a firearms charge and is going to apply for placement in a state prison program.
He was one of six defendants in pending criminal cases to enter a guilty plea before Judge Joseph J. Matika.
Vehicle stop
Raymond Reigel, 33, of Gilbertsville, pleaded to one count of firearms not to be carried without a license. He was arrested following a traffic stop by Kidder Township police on Oct. 2, 2017, at routes 903 and 534. Found in the vehicle was a .32-caliber handgun Reigel and not licensed to have. In exchange for the plea, the district attorney’s office dropped two counts of possession of a controlled substance, three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and one count of possession of a firearm prohibited.
Reigel, who is currently an inmate in the Montgomery County prison on a probation violation charge, is going to apply for placement in the state’s Intermediate Punishment Program. The program is for two years in a state correctional institution with about seven months in prison, a period of time in an intensive inpatient drug rehabilitation program and time in a halfway house.
He will be transferred to a state prison to be evaluated for the program. If accepted, Matika will sentence him via video conference to the two years. If rejected, he will be brought back to Carbon County to be sentenced on the pending charges.
Theft cases
Creshaun Demetrick Caldwell, 23, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, pleaded to one count of receiving stolen property. He was arrested on Dec. 18, 2018, by state police at Lehighton for his part in a theft incident in Towamensing Township. Checks and other items were taken. In exchange for the plea, 14 other counts of receiving were dropped by the district attorney’s office.
Caldwell is currently an inmate in the county prison on the charges.
Matika sentenced him to time-served (146 days) to one year in jail and ordered he render 25 hours of community service. Caldwell will not be immediately released, Matika ruled. He must first submit a prerelease plan with the adult probation office concerning where he will be residing when paroled.
Paris Love Lee, 25, of Harrisburg, pleaded to two counts of retail theft in two separate incidents at the Walmart store in Mahoning Township. The thefts occurred on June 23 and July 5, 2018.
Matika placed her on probation for two years on each count, running concurrently, and ordered her to make total restitution to Walmart for $1,457.66, render a total of 100 hours of community service, supply a DNA sample and stay out of the store.
Lee, who is an inmate in the county prison, also faces charges in Berks and Montgomery counties.
Trista Hosier, 47, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count of retail theft. She was arrested on May 6, 2018, by state police at Lehighton for an incident at the Family Dollar Store at 700 E. Patterson St., in Lansford.
Matika placed her on probation for a year and ordered her to make restitution of $7 and render 50 hours of community service. The term runs concurrent with a probation sentence she is now serving.
Edward J. Miller Jr., 30, of Summit Hill, pleaded to one count of retail theft. He was arrested on March 16, 2017, by Mahoning Township police at the Walmart store.
He was placed on probation for two years and ordered to make restitution of $621.07, his share of the total taken as there is a co-defendant in the case, render 100 hours of community service, get a drug and alcohol evaluation and follow any recommendation for treatment and supply a DNA sample.
Robert Steven Kugler, 33, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count of receiving stolen property. He was arrested by state police at Lehighton for an incident at a residence along Forest Inn Road in Lower Towamensing Township, on Aug. 8, 2018.
Sentencing was deferred due to a question concerning restitution.
Each defendant sentenced must also pay court costs of about $1,000 and a $50 per month supervision fee while on probation or parole.
