A former Carbon County resident pleaded guilty to stealing a valuable excavator from a construction site. He also entered a plea to a driving under the influence charge and is facing a prison term at the time of sentencing.

Amos S. Keiper, 52, of White Haven, and formerly of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to one count of theft for the excavator incident and also to DUI before Judge Steven R. Serfass.He admitted taking a Caterpillar excavator from a construction site along Route 534 in Penn Forest Township on Aug. 6, 2011.State police at Fern Ridge responded to the theft report and followed scrape marks on the road to a site several miles away, where they found Keiper operating the piece of equipment. The equipment was valued at $90,000 by its owner, Northeastern Site Developers.The DUI charge stems from a June 9, 2012, incident along Old Stage Road in the township. State police at Fern Ridge responded to that area and found a vehicle in a ditch with Keiper the operator. He was taken for at test, which revealed a 0.10 BAC.Serfass deferred sentencing so Keiper could apply for placement in the county's Intermediate Punishment Program. Serfass noted state sentencing guidelines indicate Keiper is facing a jail term at the time of sentencing.