Carbon County court — guilty pleas

A Montour County man was sentenced to a state prison term Thursday afternoon in Carbon County court after pleading guilty to criminal mischief, as a felony, and unauthorized use of an automobile, a misdemeanor.

He was one of nine defendants in pending criminal cases to enter a guilty plea before Judge Steven R. Serfass.

Lehighton incident

Kevin M. Hegarty, 47, of Washingtonville, was sentenced to serve 12 to 36 months on the mischief count and nine to 24 months on the unauthorized used charge, with the terms running concurrently.

Hegarty was arrested on March 22 by Lehighton police when he stole the vehicle of a borough resident and then crashed it into a parked vehicle. Police were dispatched to the area of South Second Street to a report of a person ramming his vehicle into other vehicles. On scene officers found Hegarty in a 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The owner of the Chevrolet told officers he did not give Hegarty permission to use his vehicle.

Hegarty must also pay restitution totaling $10,234.74 for damages done in the crash.

In addition to the jail term, Serfass ordered Hegarty to get a mental health evaluation and follow any recommendation for treatment and supply a DNA sample.

He was given credit for 57 days already spent in prison on the charges.

Other pleas

Brandon Michael Mendez, 25, of Jim Thorpe, entered guilty pleas in two pending cases to counts of false identification to law enforcement, theft, theft of services, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He was arrested on the false ID charge on Jan. 17 following a vehicle stop along West Fifth Street by Jim Thorpe police. The other counts stem from an incident on March 15 when Jim Thorpe police were called to the 500 block of South Second Street for a person who did not pay a taxi fare. Police were told that Mendez had a taxi take him to Weissport, where he entered a residence and returned with a television. He then had the taxi driver take him back to Jim Thorpe. Upon returning, he told the driver he had to go inside the residence to get money for the fare. He never returned and the driver called police.

On the theft charge Serfass sentenced Mendez to time-served (37 days) to one day less 24 months in prison; on the false ID and paraphernalia charges he was placed on probation for six months on each count with the terms running consecutive to each other and to the theft charge. On the theft of services charge he was fined $300.

He was also ordered to make restitution of $237.20, get both drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations and follow any recommendations for treatment and render a total of 150 hours of community service.

Jonah Lee Rodriguez, 38, of Allentown, pleaded in two pending cases to two counts of false identification to law enforcement. He was arrested in Lansford on March 12 and 27, following incidents along Kline Avenue. In both incidents he gave police a false name during an investigation.

He is currently an inmate in the county prison on the charges.

Serfass sentenced him to time-served (58 days) to one year in jail on each count with the terms running concurrently. He was also ordered to get a mental health evaluation and render a total of 100 hours of community service.

It was noted Rodriguez has pending charges in Lehigh County.

Kyle Douglas Evans, 29, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count of simple assault, mutual consent. He was arrested following a domestic incident on Jan. 4 at a residence along West Iron Street in Summit Hill, involving his wife.

He was placed on probation for 24 months and ordered to get a mental health evaluation and render 100 hours of community service.

Jeremy James Herbert Turner, 28, of Edwardsville, Luzerne County, pleaded in two pending cases to one count each of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and theft.

He was arrested on the theft charge by Nesquehoning police on Jan. 1, 2017, for taking medications from a family member and later selling them. The drug counts were also filed by Nesquehoning police for an incident on June 26, 2017, when officers responded to a residence in the borough for a reported theft and found Turner with illegal drugs.

On the possession charge he was sentenced to time-served (14 days) to one year; on the other counts he was placed on probation for six months on each count, all running consecutively.

He was also ordered to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and render a total of 100 hours of community service.

Nicole Baldwin, 47, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count of theft. She admitted stealing $100 from the Subway Restaurant in Mahoning Township on Dec. 17, 2018, while she was an employee.

Serfass placed her on probation for a year and ordered her to make restitution of $100 and render 50 hours of community service.

Donald Ryan Hepner, 25, of Lansford, pleaded to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was arrested on Feb. 1 along Park Avenue by Summit Hill police.

He was placed on probation for a year and ordered to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and render 50 hours of community service.

Michael Banner, 29, of Nesquehoning, pleaded to one count of possession of marijuana. He was arrested on March 2 by Nesquehoning police along West Catawissa Street.

Serfass imposed a fine of $300.

Crystal Renee Whildin, 37, of Nesquehoning, pleaded to one count of retail theft. She was arrested on Sept. 17, 2018, by Mahoning Township police for an incident at the Walmart store.

Sentencing was deferred.

Each defendant sentenced must also pay court costs of about $1,000 and a $50 per month supervision fee while on probation or parole.