Thirteen defendants facing criminal charges entered guilty pleas on Thursday morning in Carbon County court before Judge Steven R. Serfass.

Children in carRose Miller, 30, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count each of driving under the influence (DUI) and endangering the welfare of a child.She was arrested on Dec. 12, 2011, after being involved in an accident along Mahoning Mountain Road, in Mahoning Township.When police arrived on scene they found Miller was under the influence of alcohol and also had her two children, ages seven and nine, in the vehicle, which resulted in the endangering counts.Miller told Serfass she has since undergone mental health and parenting counseling and also received treatment for alcohol abuse.Serfass told Miller his actions was very poor judgment and put the lives of her two children at risk.On the DUI count Serfass sentenced her to serve 48 hours to six months in jail, a fine of $500, license suspended for a year, get a drug and alcohol (D&A) evaluation and follow any recommendation for treatment, zero tolerance imposed on D&A use, and render 25 hours of community service.On the endangering count she was placed on probation for two years, consecutive to the DUI sentence and ordered to render another 100 hours of community service.She begins the jail term at 9 a.m. on Friday, May 18.Other pleasTodd Michael Minnich, 47, of Slatington, pleaded to one count of DUI. He was arrested on Feb. 8, along First St., in Lehighton, by state police. Given a test, the result was .15 BAC.Serfass sentenced him to serve five days to six months in jail, a fine of $300, one year license suspension, get a D&A evaluation, and render 25 hours of community service.He will serve the jail term beginning Friday, May 18, at 5 p.m. for two days and May 25 at 3 p.m. for three days.Scott Kelly, 35, of Effort, pleaded to one count of DUI and six summary motor vehicle code violations. He was arrested on Oct. 17, 2010, along Trachsville Hill Rd., in Towamensing Township, after leading state police at Lehighton on a high-speed chase. Kelly was operating a motorcycle at the time.Serfass sentenced him to serve 48 hours to six months in jail, a fine of $500, one year license suspension, get a D&A evaluation, and render 25 hours of community service. On the summary violations he was fined a total of $375 plus costs.He will begin the jail term at 7 p.m. on May 25.Charles L. Martinelli, 58, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to one count of DUI, a first offense. He was arrested on Feb. 17 along SR209 at Main Rd., in Lehighton, by state police. Given a test, the result was .11 BAC.Serfass placed him on probation for six months and ordered he pay a fine of $300, get a D&A evaluation, and render 25 hours of community service.Michele Ann Davis, 41, of Pen Argyl, pleaded to one count of DUI. She was arrested on July 24, 2011, along Blakeslee Blvd., in Mahoning Township. Given a test, the result was .30 BAC.Davis is currently serving a prison term in Northampton County for DUI which runs until January 2013.Serfass sentenced her to serve four to 12 months in prison, pay a fine of $500, one year license suspension, get a D&A evaluation, zero tolerance on D&A use, and render 100 hours of community service.The prison term runs consecutive to the Northampton sentence, Serfass ruled.Jason Maxim Brunda, 29, of Nesquehoning, pleaded to one count of theft. He was arrested by Nesquehoning police for an incident at Redner's Warehouse Market.Police said William Swire used his credit card at a ATM machine in the store and left forgetting to retrieve the card from the machine. Brunda found the card and used it to get $60 in cash he then turned the card in to store personnel. A video surveillance camera showed Brunda taking the cash.Serfass placed him on probation for a year and ordered him make restitution to Swire for $62, and render 150 hours of community service.William Silfies, 47, of Lehighton, pleaded guilty to one count of DUI. He was arrested on June 28, 2011, along Blakeslee Blvd., in Mahoning Township. Given a test, the result showed the presence of a controlled substance.Serfass sentenced him to serve 72 hours to six months in jail, a fine of $1,000, one year license suspension, get a D&A evaluation, and render 25 hours of community service.He will begin the jail term at 6 p.m. on May 27.Marquise Timothy Granger, 19, of Philadelphia, pleaded to one count each of simple assault and criminal mischief.He was arrested on March 8 when state police at Fern Ridge responded to the Child First Services facility William House in Penn Forest Township for a disturbance. Troopers learned that Granger and another client at the home were involved in a mutual fight during which a glass was broken.On the assault count Serfass placed Granger on probation for a year and ordered he render 50 hours of community service. On the mischief count he was place on probation for a year, consecutive to the first count, and ordered to render an additional 50 hours of community service.Maurice Jamal Hampton, 20, of Philadelphia, pleaded to one count of simple assault. He was arrested on Feb. 20 for an incident at the Camp Adams juvenile facility in Penn Forest Township, where he was charged with assaulting a staff member, David W. Conway.Serfass sentenced him to time-served (88 days) to one day less 24 months in prison and render 150 hours of community service.Troy M. Fairchild Sr., 39, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count of home improvement fraud. He was arrested by Palmerton police for accepting payment for roof repair work for Michael Schmalzriedt and not completing the job. The incident occurred June 16, 2011.Sentencing was deferred until restitution could be determined.Donald Joseph Krauss, 34, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to one count of DUI. He was arrested on Oct. 28, 2010, along Bertsch St., in Lansford. Given a test, the result showed the presence of a controlled substance.Serfass sentenced him to serve 72 hours to six months in jail, a fine of $1,000, one year license suspension, get a D&A evaluation, and render 25 hours of community service.He was given credit for one day spent in jail on the charge and will serve the remaining two days on May 22 and May 29, starting at 9 a.m. each day.Ryan Kristopher Altenbach, 23, of Coaldale, pleaded to one count of possession of marijuana. He was arrested on Feb. 13, 2001, by Nesquehoning police in the 500 block of E. Catawissa St.Serfass imposed a fine of $250.Hector Ortiz, 27, of Allentown, pleaded to one count of possession of a controlled substance-cocaine. He was arrested on Feb. 17 in the area of 220 White St., Weissport. Found on his person was six grams of cocaine.Serfass sentenced him to time-served (five days) to one year in jail, get a D&A evaluation, zero tolerance on D&A use, and render 50 hours of community service.SentencedKatelyn McFarland, 19, of Lehighton, who previously pleaded guilty, was sentenced on a charge of aggravated assault to time-served (145 days) to one day less 24 months in prison followed by one year probation.McFarland was arrested on Dec. 20, 2010, following an incident along SR209 in Nesquehoning. She was found in the area under the influence of alcohol and was placed under arrest.Nesquehoning police were assisted at the scene by Lansford officer Jeffery Ohl. While Ohl was placing her into a police cruiser she became combative and caused an injury to Ohl's hand. The officer was on medical leave for an extensive period of time.McFarland told Serfass since the incident she had undergone extensive inpatient rehabilitation including a total of 86 days in rehab centers plus spent 59 days in the county jail on the charge.Serfass ordered McFarland to get both a D&A and mental health evaluations, supply a DNA sample and pay the $250 fee, zero tolerance imposed on D&A use, and make restitution for medical bills incurred by Ohl totaling $14,877.49. The restitution is due to the borough's insurance carrier and a hospital.Each defendant sentenced must also pay court costs, which average close to $1,000, and a $50 per month supervision fee while on probation or parole.