A Tamaqua woman has been sentenced to a state prison term after she pleaded guilty to assault counts.

Kelly Gabrielle Bredamus, 44, of 18 E. Mauch Chunk St., Tamaqua, was sentenced by Judge James P. Goodman in Schuylkill County court to serve two and a half to five years in a state correctional institution after pleading guilty to a charge of criminal attempt to commit aggravated assault.The charge was brought by Tamaqua Patrolman Karl Harig, who said on Oct. 12, 2012, she attempted to stab Calvin Smith, same address, with a steak knife following a domestic dispute.Pleas to DUIClaudette Jean Hepner, 51, who pleaded guilty to driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol, was sentenced by President Judge William E. Baldwin to serve four months to five years in the county prison, fined $1,500, pay $300 to the Substance Abuse Education (SAE) fund, $50 to Criminal Justice Enhancement Account (CJEA), $100 to Catastrophe fund, enroll in alcohol highway safety school, and complete a course in outpatient treatment. On a summary charge of stop sign violation was fined $25 plus $50 costs. Hepner was cited by Patrolman Frank J. DiMarco, Saint Clair Police.Both defendants sentenced must also pay a $50 per month supervision fee when released on parole.Trials beginFive criminal jury trials got under way Monday in the county court with two being disposed the first day.Robert Frederick Bellen, 30, of Minersville, was set to go on trial for dealing in illegal drugs but when he appeared in court before the jury he decided to plead guilty. Judge Jacqueline Russell accepted the plea and sentenced him on two counts of deliver of a controlled substance to pay the cost of prosecution, $100 to the CJEA, $200 to the SAE fund, $120 to the Minersville Police Department, $226 to the Bethlehem Regional Crime Laboratory, submit to a DNA sample and pay a $250 fee, perform 40 hours of community service, and serve two to 23 months in the county prison. Bellen was cited by Patrolman Jeffrey Bowers.Barry Lee Berger, 32, of Ringtown, went on trial before Judge Charles M. Miller charged with one counts each of theft and agricultural vandalism.Start of the trial was delayed as the presiding judge met with the attorneys for the Commonwealth and defendant in chambers. Judge Charles Miller notified the jury that two charges of agricultural vandalism were dismissed because the farm owner chose not to testify.The charge was a vehicle in which the defendant was alleged to be riding destroyed a soybean crop on the farm of Edward M. Carey, Green Mountain Road, Ringtown.Berger went on trial for theft of a horse owned by Michael A. Bernotas, Green Mountain Road, but after the Commonwealth's testimony, which did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Berger stole the horse, Miller dismissed the charges and released the jury.The charge was that a car was seen driving down the Green Mountain Road and the passenger in the car was holding a main and pulling the horse and running the horse down the road. The owner of the horse testified the horse was in an enclosed coral. He said the horse came back by it self to the farm two hours later.Kevin E. Smith, 29, and Darrell D. Dixon, 29, both of Harrisburg, are being tried together before Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin with each charged with two counts of robbery of the Miners Bank in Tremont on June 6, 2012, and the Halifax National Bank in Tower City on June 29.John Patrick Heffner, 26, Orwigsburg, is on trial before President Judge William E. Baldwin on charges of aggravated assault and terroristic threats.Caleb David Green, 36, of Reading, is on trial before Judge John E. Domalake on charges of possession and delivery of a controlled substance.Cases attachedTwo new criminal cases were attached for trial before juries today.Yasheam Washington, 24, an inmate at the state correctional facility in Ryan Township, went on trial before Judge Miller on a charge of possession of a weapon or implement for escape.Robert James Archer, 45., Ashland, went on trial before Judge Jacqueline Russell on charges of access device (credit card) fraud, theft by unlawful taking, and receiving stolen property.