Carbon County court - Drug Cases
Two Carbon County residents entered guilty pleas in the county court on Monday to drug dealing charges in separate incidents.
President Judge Roger N. Nanovic II accepted the pleas.
Vehicle stop
Derek Michael Hunsicker, 29, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to one count of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance — fentanyl.
Hunsicker was arrested on May 30 by Jim Thorpe police following a traffic stop along Lentz Trail. Before the stop police received information that Hunsicker was trafficking in illegal drugs and had some in his possession. He was spotted along Lentz Trail and the stop was made.
He was found with illegal drugs in the car and in an interview with police admitted to the selling allegations.
Nanovic told Hunsicker that because of a prior conviction for PWID, he faces a maximum prison term of up to 30 years.
Nanovic deferred sentencing and ordered the adult probation office to prepare a presentence investigation report. Hunsicker is currently an inmate in the county prison on the charge.
Multiple counts
Nicole A. Park, 38, of Palmerton, pleaded guilty in three pending cases to one count each of criminal conspiracy — possession with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under the influence of a controlled substance.
Park was arrested on the felony PWID charge on June 15 following a traffic stop along Route 248 at Bowmanstown by agents of the state Attorney General’s office. At the stop Park, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was found with methamphetamine and other drugs. Police had learned that Park and a co-defendant had gone to Allentown to purchase meth for resale in Carbon County.
She was arrested on the other drug count on July 10, 2017, along Main Road in Palmerton by agents of the AG. The DUI occurred on June 17, 2017, in the area of Hillside Avenue in Palmerton by state police at Lehighton. She refused a test.
Park is currently an inmate in the county prison on the charges.
Nanovic deferred sentencing so Park can apply for placement in the state’s Intermediate Punishment Program. The program runs for two years and includes about seven months in prison followed by a period of time in an intensive drug and alcohol inpatient rehabilitation program and then time in a halfway house.
Park will be transferred to a state correctional institution for evaluation for the program. If she is accepted Nanovic will sentence her via video from a state prison. If she is rejected for the program she will be brought back to Carbon for sentencing by Nanovic. Nanovic also ordered the adult probation office to prepare a presentence investigation report.
