Carbon woman given prison term for theft, drug counts

A Carbon County woman was sentenced to a county prison term on Thursday morning after pleading guilty to theft and drug counts.

Cortney Elizabeth Poremba, 31, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count each of criminal conspiracy - theft and possession of a controlled substance in separate incidents.

President Judge Roger N. Nanovic II sentenced her to serve one to 12 months in prison on both counts, with the terms running concurrently.

Poremba asked for a probation term saying she has been addressing a drug addiction issue. But Nanovic rejected the request citing the circumstances of the cases.

In the theft case she was charged by state police at Lehighton for an incident on Feb 6, 2018, in the parking lot of the Country Junction store in Towamensing Township. The victim of the theft posted on social media he had a cellphone for sale. A co-conspirator with Poremba responded to the posting and set up a meeting with the victim in the parking lot. The co-defendant arrived in a car driven by Poremba, got out of it, approached the victim, and she asked to see the phone. When the victim handed her the phone, she jumped back in the vehicle and Poremba fled the scene.

Nanovic noted that the incident is one of several in which there was an agreement to meet someone to make a purchase and then take the item and flee. He rejected Poremba’s claim that she didn’t know what was going to happen before the theft and said he believed she was involved in others. The stolen phone was taken to Allentown and sold to purchase drugs, Nanovic said.

The drug arrest occurred on April 19, 2018, following a traffic stop by Lehighton police along Route 443. Poremba was a passenger in the vehicle. A check revealed she had an active warrant for her arrest issued out of Monroe County. While being taken into custody, police found heroin on her.

Poremba recently served a three- to six-month prison term in Monroe County. She said she remains under supervision in Monroe until February 2020.

In addition to the prison term, Poremba was ordered to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and follow any recommendation for treatment, zero tolerance imposed for drug or alcohol use, pay court costs of about $1,000, pay restitution of $190, which is a half share of the total due and pay a $50 per month supervision fee while on parole.

Poremba will begin her prison term Tuesday. The sentence runs concurrent with Monroe County.