Thirteen defendants in pending criminal cases entered guilty pleas recently in Carbon County Court.

Judge Steven R. Serfass accepted the pleas from the following defendants.Michael Balagoch Jr., 31, of Lehighton, pleaded guilty to one count of simple assault. He was arrested on Nov. 5, 2011, by Lehighton police for assaulting Melissa Tessitore in the area of 316 S. First St. Police indicated the incident was the result of a domestic dispute.Serfass sentenced him to serve three to 23 months in the county prison. He must also get a drug and alcohol (D&A) evaluation and follow any recommendation for treatment and zero tolerance imposed on D&A use.Vincent C. Borzuku, 46, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count of driving under the influence (DUI) of a controlled substance. He was arrested on Nov. 2, 2011, by Mahoning Township police along Mahoning Mountain Road.Serfass deferred sentencing so a restitution amount could be determined.Christopher Michael Bott, 30, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to one count of DUI of alcohol, a first offense. He was arrested on Nov. 13, 2011, along SR903 in Penn Forest Township. Given a test, the result was .18BAC.Serfass placed Bott on probation for six months and ordered he pay a fine of $300 and get a D&A evaluation.Bruce MacDonald Brandt, 40, of Albrightsville, pleaded to one count of DUI of alcohol. He was arrested on Oct. 21, 2011, along Penn Forest Trail in Penn Forest Township. Given a test, the result was .26BAC.Serfass sentenced him to serve 48 hours to six months in jail, a fine of $500, license suspended for a year and get a D&A evaluation. He began the jail term at 9 a.m. on Jan. 20.Tanya Gould, 40, of Lansford, pleaded in two pending cases. She pleaded to one count each of DUI of alcohol, which occurred on Sept. 12, 2009, along W. Ridge St., in Lansford, and careless driving, a summary offense, which occurred on April 5, 2010, along Ridge St., in Lansford.On the DUI charge Serfass sentenced her to serve 48 hours to six months in jail, a fine of $500, license suspended for a year, and get a D&A evaluation. She was given credit for two days spent in jail and was paroled. On the summary offense she was fined $25 and costs.Christina Greloch, 23, of Lake Harmony, pleaded to a summary offense of disorderly conduct. She was arrested on June 2, 2011, by state police following a vehicle stop along the turnpike in Kidder Township. A false identification to law enforcement charge was dropped in a plea bargain.Serfass fined her $25 and costs.Robert Nathan Heffelfinger Jr., 23, of Northampton, pleaded to one count of DUI of alcohol. He was arrested on Oct. 29, 2011, along SR248 in Palmerton. Given a test, the result was .13BAC.Serfass sentenced Heffelfinger to serve five days to six months in jail, a fine of $300, license suspended for a year, get a D&A evaluation, and render three hours of community service per month while on parole. He will begin the jail term on Jan. 26 at 6:30 p.m. for three days and Feb. 2 for two days.Dietrik Ryan Hosier, 21, of Weissport, pleaded to one count of criminal conspiracy-robbery. He was arrested by Lehighton police for an incident on Oct. 23, 2011, near East Alley with Damian Smith the victim.Serfass sentenced him to serve three to 23 months in jail, make restitution of $250 to the victim, render three hours of community service per month when on parole, get a D&A evaluation, and supply a DNA sample. He was given credit for 31 days spent in jail on the charge.Shawn Michael Neff, 27, of Lehighton, pleaded to one county of criminal conspiracy-robbery. He is a co-defendant with Hosier in the case above.Serfass deferred sentencing due to another case pending against Neff.James M. Lewis, 20, of Philadelphia, pleaded to one count of simple assault. He was arrested by state police at Lehighton for an incident at the Youth Service's Camp Adams in Penn Forest Township, where he was serving a placement by another county court. He admitted assaulting Troy S. Bartholomew at the camp on Nov. 29, 2011.Serfass sentenced him to serve six to 23 months in prison and attend anger management counseling. He was given credit for 51 days spent in jail on the charge.Michael John McFadden, 23, of Nesquehoning, pleaded to one count each of theft of a automobile and receiving stolen property. He was arrested by Nesquehoning police for an incident on July 3, 2011, in which Chad Malaska is the listed victim.Serfass sentenced him to serve three to 23 months in prison on the receiving charge and 12 months probation on the theft count, running consecutively. He was also ordered to render three hours of community service per month while on parole and probation. He was given credit for 200 days spent in jail on the charges.Sean McFadden, 22, of Nesquehoning, pleaded guilty to one count of theft. He was arrested by Nesquehoning police for an incident on Sept. 21, 2011, in which Matthew Saylor is the victim and occurring along Rhume St.Serfass sentenced him to serve three to 23 months in prison, get a D&A evaluation, and render three hours of community service per month while on parole. He was given credit for 82 days spent in jail on the charge.Jeremy Scott Schmick, 27, of Summit Hill, pleaded to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was arrested on July 1, 2010, by Lansford police when he allegedly sold heroin to a confidential informant. A possession with intent to deliver charge was dropped in a plea bargain.Serfass placed him on probation for a year and ordered he get a D&A evaluation.Each defendant sentenced must also pay court costs, which average about $1,000, and a $50 per month supervision fee while on probation or parole.