Tamaqua area man gets more time in state prison

A Tamaqua area man was sentenced to more time in a state correctional institution on Tuesday in Carbon County court.

Tyler Argurst Cimino, 23, of Rush Township, was sentenced by Judge Steven R. Serfass to serve 18 to 36 months in a state prison and ordered it to run consecutive to a state term he is currently serving imposed in Schuylkill County. Serfass rejected a request by defense attorney David J. Rice to have the sentence run concurrent with the Schuylkill County term.

Serfass said he had to consider the gravity and the type of crime and the protection of the public. He also noted that three months after being arrested on the Schuylkill County charges he committed the same crimes in Carbon.

Cimino previously pleaded to possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.

He also applied for placement in the state’s Intermediate Punishment Program but was rejected. He is currently an inmate in the state prison at Camp Hill, Cumberland County.

Cimino was arrested on July 9, 2018, by Lehighton police, agents of the Office of the Attorney General, and the Carbon County Drug Task Force following an ongoing investigation of drug trafficking in the county.

He was arrested in the area of South First and Iron streets in Lehighton after a traffic stop.

Additional charges of criminal use of a communication facility, intent to possess a controlled substance by a person not registered, use/possession of drug paraphernalia, and making repairs to or selling an offensive weapon were dropped in plea negotiations.

Cimino claimed he was going through a “tough part of my life” when he committed the crimes. He said his wife had left him with their child and he said, “I had nothing left to hold onto.” He added, “I feel like I learned my lesson.”

Serfass also ordered him to supply a DNA sample, zero tolerance imposed for drug or alcohol use and pay court costs of about $1,000.

He was given credit for 266 days already served on the charge.