Schuylkill County Court
On Feb. 27, Schuylkill County President Judge William E. Baldwin committed two defendants who had violated conditions of parole to county prison terms:
Michelle M. Rex, 44, Tamaqua, had been arrested Sept. 24, 2014 by Rush Township Police Department officer Thomas Fort on charges of theft by unlawful taking — movable property and receiving stolen property. The new maximum sentence date is April 28, 2020.
Christine L. Oxner, 47, Andreas, had been arrested Feb. 2, 2018, by Tamaqua Police Department officer Thomas Rogers on a charge of use or possession of drug paraphernalia. Oxner will be incarcerated for three to 12 months.
IPP
On March 6, Schuylkill County President Judge William E. Baldwin placed the following defendants on the Intermediate Punishment Program:
Kelly P. Swartwood, 47, Hazleton, withdrew a prior not guilty plea and entered a guilty plea. Swartwood had been arrested by Tamaqua Police Officer Karl Harig on June 15, 2018, and charged with operating a vehicle not equipped with ignition interlock and driving while under suspension.
Swartwood must pay a $300 fine on the first count, a $500 fine on the second count, and serve 90 days on the intermediate punishment program on both counts, to run consecutively.
Jake Aaron Love, 24, Summit Hill, was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police-Frackville officer Michael Allar on Sept. 2, 2017, and charged with DUI-general impairment, DUI-highest rate, disregard of traffic lanes/careless driving.
Love was sentenced to six months intermediate punishment on the DUI-General Impairment charge, which includes 10 days in the work-release program at the county prison, followed by five months, 20 days intermediate punishment, with 40 days house arrest with electronic surveillance at $12 per day.
He must pay $120 to LVHN, a fine of $750, $100 to the substance abuse education fund, $150 to MCARE, and $50 a month supervision fee. He must complete the DUI-highway safety school. His license suspension will be for 12 months, with an additional 12-month ignition interlock. He must serve 20 hours community service. Additional charges and fees total $102.
Jonathan M. Roth, 32, New Ringgold, was arrested by Orwigsburg Police Department officer Brandon Bayer on Dec. 21, 2017, and charged with DUI-controlled substance. Roth was sentenced to six months intermediate punishment, to include 15 days on house arrest with electronic surveillance at $12 per day, followed by 45 days strict supervision and four months on probation. He must pay $400 to LVHN, a $1,000 fine, $100 to the substance abuse education fund, $75 to MCARE, and a $50-a-month supervision fee. He must complete the DUI-Alcohol Highway Safety School. His license will be suspended for 12 months and he must serve 10 hours community service.
Probation sentences
On March 6, Schuylkill County President Judge William E. Baldwin imposed probation sentences for the following defendants:
Marshall M. Barker, 24, Tamaqua, who was arrested by Pottsville Police Department officer Joseph Krammes on Nov. 15, 2017, and charged with criminal trespass and possession of drug paraphernalia. Barker will be on probation for two years on the criminal trespass charge, the possession of drug paraphernalia charge was dropped. He must pay $50 to the CJEA and a $50 a month supervision charge.
Steven A. Fourre, 26, Tamaqua, was arrested April 24, 2018, by Tamaqua Police Department officer Michael Weaver and charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a small amount of marijuana. Fourre was placed on probation for 12 months, to run consecutively, on the first two charges, the possession of a small amount of marijuana charge was dropped. He must pay $50 to the CJEA and a $50 a month supervision charge, plus $100 to the substance abuse education fund and a bench warrant fee of $249.
Leah M. Farber, 24, Andreas, was arrested Sept. 28, 2017, by Mahanoy City Police Department officer Thomas Rentschler and charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was placed on probation for 12 months on each charge, to run concurrently. She must pay $50 to the CJEA, $50 a month supervision fee, $100 to the substance abuse education fund and a $201 bench warrant fee. She must submit to drug and alcohol evaluation and any recommended treatment.
