Carbon County court

A Carbon County man, who admitted having drugs in the county prison, was sentenced to a state prison term on Monday in the county court.

Judge Joseph J. Matika accepted his plea and 17 other pleas from defendants charged with drug counts.

Contraband

Prince Vereen, 29, of Lansford, pleaded guilty in two pending cases to one count of possession of a controlled substance - contraband by an inmate and a charge of criminal trespass. He was sentenced to serve 15 to 36 months in a state correctional institution of the drug charge and three to 23 months on the trespass count, with the terms running concurrently.

Vereen was arrested at the prison on June 22, 2018, by Nesquehoning police, who were called to the jail by prison personnel who found the defendant with 12 baggies of heroin.

The trespass charge stems from an Oct. 20, 2018, incident in Lansford at a residence along West Kline Avenue.

In addition to the prison term, Matika ordered Vereen to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and follow any recommendation for treatment, supply a DNA sample, make restitution of $75 in the trespass case for damages to the property and when paroled, rendered 75 hours of community service.

Vereen, who is an inmate in the prison, was given credit for 244 days already served.

Other pleas

Jonathan L. Stefanick, 31, of Summit Hill, pleaded to one count each of possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest. He was arrested on the drug count on Jan. 11 by Nesquehoning police at the county prison where he was found with methamphetamine. Two felony counts of contraband were dropped in a plea bargain with the district attorney’s office.

The resisting charge stems from a Sept. 22, 2017, incident in Summit Hill. Police responded to a report of threats made to a person at a local tavern. Stefanick was involved and was found by police walking along West Hazard Street. When they attempted to take him into custody, he struggled with the officers.

On the resisting charge, Matika sentenced him to time-served (156 days) to 23 months in prison, and on the drug count one year probation concurrent. He was also ordered to render 50 hours of community service and get both drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations.

He will not be paroled until a pre-parole plan is approved by the adult probation office.

Jacob David Begel, 18, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance — marijuana — a felony. He was arrested on March 7, by state police at Lehighton along Little Gap Road in Lower Towamensing Township.

Matika sentenced him to serve one to 18 months in prison, get a drug and alcohol evaluation, supply a DNA sample and render 75 hours of community service when paroled.

Begel, an inmate in the county prison, was given credit for 15 days already served.

Timothy Doyne, 34, of Summit Hill, pleaded in two pending cases to possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was arrested on the possession charge by Lansford police on July 2, 2018, along Patterson Street; and on the paraphernalia count on Jan. 11 by Summit Hill police.

Matika placed him on probation for a year on the drug count and six months probation on the paraphernalia charge with the terms running consecutively. He was also ordered to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and render a total of 75 hours of community service.

Cheryl Neikam, 44, of Bethlehem, pleaded to one count of possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine. She was arrested on April 2 by Weatherly police following a traffic stop along Hudsondale Street.

Sentencing was deferred.

Holly Ann Jones, 47, of White Haven, pleaded to one count of possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine. She was arrested on Sept. 21, 2018, following a traffic stop at the Bandit II Truck Stop, off Route 534, in White Haven.

Matika placed her on probation for a year and ordered her to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and render 50 hours of community service. The term runs concurrent with a probation sentence she is serving in Monroe County.

Shane Zacharias Smith, 37, of Lansford, pleaded to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was arrested on March 22, 2018, by Palmerton police along Delaware Avenue following a vehicle stop.

He was placed on probation for a year and ordered to render 50 hours of community service. The term runs concurrent with a probation period he is serving in Carbon County now.

Jason Hein, 36, of Allentown, pleaded to one count of possession of a small amount of marijuana. He was arrested on July 4, 2018, by state police at Lehighton in the area of Pohopoco Drive and Deer Lane in Towamensing Township following a traffic stop.

Matika imposed a fine of $150.

Eric Baker, 26, of Weatherly, pleaded to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was arrested on Sept. 13 by Weatherly police along Kline Avenue.

Baker is currently an inmate in the county prison facing a probation/parole violation petition filed by the adult probation office.

Matika placed him on probation for a year and ordered he get a drug and alcohol evaluation.

Morgan Lee Delvillaggio, 22, of Summit Hill, pleaded to one count of possession of paraphernalia. She was arrested on Oct. 2, 2017, by Lansford police at Bertsch and Coal streets following a vehicle stop. She was a passenger in the vehicle.

She was placed on probation for a year and ordered to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and render 50 hours of community service. The term runs concurrent with a probation sentencing she is serving in Schuylkill County.

Angel Antonio Dejesus, 32, of Lansford, pleaded to one count of possession of a small amount of marijuana. He was arrested on Aug. 5 by state police at Lehighton following a traffic stop along Route 248 at Bowmanstown.

Matika imposed a fine of $150.

Nelson Taylor, 25, of Wilkes-Barre, pleaded to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was arrested by Lansford police on May 28, 2014, after police responded to a residence along East Bertsch Street for a report of an unwanted person. Taylor said his case took so long getting to court because he had moved out of state for a period of time. Upon returning and learning there was a warrant for his arrest, he turned himself in to the sheriff’s office.

Matika placed him on probation for six months and ordered he render 25 hours of community service.

Emelia S. Korli, 42, of Whitehall, pleaded to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. She was arrested on May 24 by state police at Lehighton along Route 209 in Franklin Township following a traffic stop. She was a passenger in the vehicle.

She was placed on probation for six months and ordered to render 25 hours of community service.

Christopher James Jennings, 31, of Croydon, Bucks County, pleaded to one count each of possession of a controlled substance and obstruction in the administration of law. In exchange for the plea, seven other criminal counts, including five summary motor vehicle code violations, were dropped.

Matika placed him on probation for a year on each count, running concurrently, and ordered him to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and render 50 hours of community service.

Anthony Michael Kniese, 28, of Coaldale, pleaded to one count of possession of a controlled substance, marijuana. He was arrested on Oct. 4, 2018, by Summit Hill police following a traffic stop.

He was placed on probation for six months and ordered to render 25 hours of community service.

Anthony Rodriguez, 38, of Allentown, pleaded to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was arrested on July 6 by state police at Lehighton along Pohopoco Drive in Towamensing Township, following a traffic stop.

He was placed on probation for six months and ordered to render 25 hours of community service.

Jessica Nicole Warner, 26, of Kunkletown, pleaded to one count of possession of a controlled substance, heroin. She was arrested on Dec. 4, 2018, by state police at Lehighton along Koch Road in Kunkletown.

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

Kodie Austin Williams, 21, of Kunkletown, pleaded to one count each of possession of drug paraphernalia and furnishing alcohol to a minor. He was arrested on March 29, 2018, by state police at Lehighton along Lehigh Street at East Lizard Creek Road in Bowmanstown.

He was placed on probation for a year on each count, running concurrently, and ordered to render 50 hours of community service. On the furnishing count he was fined $1,000.

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