Six persons facing various criminal charges entered guilty pleas in Carbon County court on Thursday before President Judge Roger N. Nanovic.
Endangering a child
Adam Joseph Schaeffer, 22, of Jim Thorpe, was sentence to serve nine to 18 months in prison on a charge of endangering the welfare of a child. However, since he has already served 302 days in prison on the charge, he was immediately paroled.
Schaeffer was charged by Jim Thorpe police for an incident that occurred July 15, 2010, at his residence along Center Avenue. Police responded to the home to a report of a seven-month old male left alone in the home without supervision.
When police arrived they found Schaeffer outside the home "incoherent". He told Nanovic he had over-medicated for a prior condition and walked outside and locked the door. He said he had no key to get back in and the child was left alone.
The child was not injured in the incident, police noted, as he was check by medical personnel.
In addition to the jail term, Nanovic ordered Schaeffer to get a drug and alcohol (D&A) evaluation and follow any recommendation for treatment and imposed zero tolerance for D&A use.
Other pleas
Other defendants who entered pleas included the following:
Raymond Mayers Jr., 24, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count of possession of a firearm without a license and was sentenced to serve six to 12 months in prison followed by two years of probation. He was given credit for 123 days already spent in jail on the charge.
He was arrested on March 14 along N. Second St., in Lehighton. Police found he had a Ruger handgun in his possession without being properly licensed.
He must also get a D&A evaluation and not possess or own any type of firearms. He is currently in the county prison and has a detainer filed against him by the adult probation office for a parole violation.
Sheryl L. Zohlmann, 44. of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to one count each of driving under the influence (DUI) of a controlled substance and recklessly endangering another person. She was arrested on Feb. 18 along North St. in Jim Thorpe.
Police responded to the area to a report of an erratic driver. When they arrived they found Zohlmann driving her vehicle in reverse on the street. She had two children in the vehicle, ages five and 10, who were not belted.
On the DUI count Nanovic sentenced her to serve 72 hours to six months in jail, a fine of $1,000, one year license suspension, and get a D&A evaluation. On the recklessly endangering charge she was placed on probation for 18 months, concurrent to the DUI charge.
She will begin the jail term at 7 a.m. on Friday, July 22.
Patrick Walter Beers, 18, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to one count of s