Carbon County court
A Carbon County man entered guilty pleas in four pending criminal cases last Friday in Carbon County court.
He was one of 10 defendants in pending criminal cases to enter a plea before Judge Joseph J. Matika.
Seeks state intermediate punishment program
Jeffrey Duane Hosler Jr., 30, of Weissport, pleaded to two counts of resisting arrest and one count each of retail theft and simple assault.
He was arrested on the first resisting charge on Feb. 2 by Franklin Township police; on the second on June 14 by Lehighton police. The retail theft occurred on March 20 at the Walmart store in Mahoning Township; and the simple assault occurred at the Carbon County prison involving another inmate and filed by Nesquehoning police. He is currently in the county prison on the charges.
Matika deferred sentencing so Hosler can apply for placement in the state’s intermediate punishment program. The program runs for two years and includes about seven months in prison, a period of time in an intensive inpatient drug rehabilitation program and then time in a halfway house. He will be transferred to a state correctional institution for evaluation for the program. If he is not accepted into the program he will be brought back to Carbon for sentencing by Matika.
Other pleas
Cecelia E. Graham, 31, of Tamaqua, pleaded to one count of hindering apprehension.
She was charged by Lansford police for an incident on Sept. 5 when police went to West Abbott Street looking for Francis Chambers, who was wanted on a warrant. She denied Chambers was present and knew of his whereabouts even though she did know he was a wanted person.
Matika placed her on probation for 18 months and ordered her to supply a DNA sample and render 75 hours of community service.
Veronica Lynn Vogel, 21, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to one count each of retail theft and false identification to law enforcement.
She was arrested on Sept. 4 by Nesquehoning police at the Dollar General Store along East Catawissa Street. She was caught shoplifting, and when confronted gave police a false identification. She is currently an inmate in the county prison on a probation violation detainer.
Matika placed her on probation for a year on both counts, running concurrently, and ordered her to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and follow any recommendation for treatment, make restitution of $59.54 to Dollar General, render 50 hours of community service when paroled and stay out of the store.
Theresa Ann Houser, 58, of Tamaqua, pleaded to one count each of retail theft and possession of drug paraphernalia.
She was arrested on March 23 by Mahoning Township police at the Walmart store. Police said they found methamphetamine on her.
On the drug count she was placed on probation for a year and ordered to get a drug and alcohol evaluation, render 50 hours of community service, make restitution of $14.93 to Walmart and stay out of the store.
On the theft count, which is rated a summary first offense, she was fined $100.
David Scott Pieri, 62, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to one count of unsworn falsification to law enforcement.
He was charged by Mahoning Township police with attempting to purchase a firearm at the Walmart store at a time he was prohibited from doing so. A charge of materially false written statement-purchase was dropped in a plea bargain.
Matika placed him on probation for a year and ordered he render 50 hours of community service.
Megan Rose Maguschak, 26, of Beaver Meadows, pleaded to one count of retail theft.
She was arrested by Mahoning Township police on Jan. 16, 2017, at the Walmart store.
She is currently an inmate in the Luzerne County prison in Wilkes-Barre on a parole violation charge.
Matika placed her on probation for a year and ordered her to get a drug and alcohol evaluation, zero tolerance for drug or alcohol use, render 50 hours of community service and stay out of the store.
Candice Marie Vandever, 26, of Emmaus, pleaded to one count of theft.
She was arrested on Sept. 19, 2017, by Mahoning Township police at the Walmart store.
She is currently an inmate in the Lehigh County prison, Allentown, on a probation violation charge.
Matika placed her on probation for a year and ordered her to render 50 hours of community service when paroled, make restitution to Walmart for $109.85 and stay out of the store.
Robert Perez Jr., 43, of Lansford, pleaded to one count each of persistent disorderly conduct and harassment for an incident on March 20 filed by Lansford police stemming from what was termed a neighbor dispute. A charge of simple assault was dropped in a plea bargain.
Matika placed him on probation for six months on each count, with the terms running concurrently, and ordered he render 25 hours of community service.
Quinn Rexford Hydro, 44, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count of persistent disorderly conduct.
He was arrested on Nov. 13, 2017, by Lehighton police. He reported a robbery, but it was a false report. A charge of false reports was dropped in a plea bargain.
Matika placed him on probation for a year and ordered he get a drug and alcohol evaluation and render 50 hours of community service.
Daniel Joseph Schaller, 40, of Summit Hill, pleaded to one count of harassment, as a summary offense, with a charge of simple assault dropped in a plea bargain.
He was charged by Lansford police following a domestic incident on March 26, 2016, involving a female at an East Patterson Street address.
Matika imposed a fine of $100.
Each defendant sentenced must also pay court costs of about $1,000 and a $50 per month supervision fee while on probation or parole.
