Carbon man given prison term in six criminal cases

A Carbon County man was sentenced to a county prison term on Monday after previously pleading guilty in six criminal cases, including two driving under the influence charges.

Matthew G. Wentz, 38, of Parryville, was sentenced by Judge Steven R. Serfass on two counts of DUI and one of retail theft and three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.

He was sentenced to serve 72 hours to six months on the first DUI, and 90 days to 60 months on the second. On the retail theft, six to 23 months, on the drug counts a total of two to 12 months, all of the terms running concurrent to each other. His total sentence is six to 60 months.

He was arrested on one DUI count on March 23, 2017, along Bridge Street by Lehighton police. A test revealed the presence of a controlled substance. The second DUI arrest occurred on March 1, 2017, along Route 443 filed by Mahoning Township police. Again, a controlled substance was involved.

The retail theft occurred on April 6, 2017, at the Walmart store in Mahoning Township involving merchandise worth $25.35 being stolen.

The three drug charges were the result of incidents on May 6 in Lehighton following a vehicle stop along Bankway.

In that case, a DUI count was dropped. The second drug arrest was on March 1, 2017, filed with the DUI charge in that incident. The third was March 13 filed by Mahoning Township police along Route 443 near the Pizza Hut restaurant.

Wentz must pay total fines of $2,500, total license suspensions of 30 months, pay court costs of about $1,000, render a total of 250 hours of community service after he is paroled and pay a $50 per month supervision fee while on parole.

He was given credit for a total of three days.