Carbon County court — DUI
Four defendants, who previously pleaded to driving under the influence and related charges, were sentenced on Friday in Carbon County court.
Judge Steven R. Serfass imposed sentences on the following:
Tara Lee Hunter, 39, of Wescosville, Lehigh County, was sentenced to serve 90 days to 60 months in prison. She was arrested on Feb. 29, 2017, by Lehighton police along First Street. A test revealed the presence of a controlled substance.
She was also ordered to pay a fine of $1,500, license suspended for 18 months and render 100 hours of community service when paroled. She was given credit for 27 days already served.
Hunter is currently an inmate in the Lehigh County prison on other charges.
Joseph Daniel Fritz Rex, 21, of West Chester, Chester County, was sentenced to serve 72 hours to six months in jail, a fine of $1,000, one-year license suspension and render a total of 125 hours of community service. He was arrested on March 5, 2017, by Mahoning Township police along Mill Road. A test showed the presence of a controlled substance. He also pleaded to a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia for which he was placed on probation for a year, concurrent with the DUI charge.
He also pleaded to a charge of simple assault in another case. He was arrested on Feb. 14, 2016, by Jim Thorpe police for an incident in the area of the 100 block of West Broadway when police were called to a domestic dispute. He was accused of assaulting a woman at that location. On that charge he was sentenced to serve 10 days to 12 months consecutive to the DUI charge. He was given credit for 10 days already served and paroled. He was also ordered to have no contact with the victim.
He will begin serving the 72 hours on June 8 at 1 p.m.
Melanie Ann Green, 50, of Lehighton, was sentenced to serve 48 hours in jail followed by five months and 28 days in the county’s Intermediate Punishment program with the first 28 days on electronic monitoring, pay a fine of $750, license suspended for a year and must render 25 hours of community service.
She was arrested on March 5, 2017, along Coal Street by Lehighton police. A test revealed a 0.22 BAC.
She began the jail term on Friday at 6 p.m.
Stephen Michael Rabenold, 57, of Lehighton, was sentenced to serve 72 hours to six months in jail, a fine of $1,000, license suspended for a year and render 25 hours of community service. On a charge of driving under suspension he was fined $200 and costs.
He was given credit for two days already served and was to begin serving the third day at 9 a.m. today.
Drug count
Shaun Austin Mann, 21, of Lehighton, was sentenced to time-served (19 days) to 12 months on a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was arrested on Jan. 12, 2015, by Lehighton police along First Street. He was also ordered to get both drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations and render 50 hours of community service.
Each defendant must also pay court costs of about $1,000, a $50 per month supervision fee while on parole and follow any recommendation of their drug and alcohol evaluation.