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Weatherly man gets jail term for DUI and theft charges

A Weatherly man was given a county prison term on Monday in Carbon County court on driving under the influence and two theft charges.

Brandon J. Zeigler, 23, was sentenced to a total of four to 24 months in prison followed by three years of probation.Zeigler previously pleaded guilty to the DUI charge and one theft count and entered a guilty plea Monday to a second theft charge.The DUI occurred on Sept. 30, 2013, along First Street, where he was stopped by Weatherly police. Given a test, the result showed the presence of a controlled substance.He was arrested on one theft count for an incident on May 1 when he took part in the entry of the home of Mark Kunkle, 319 Third St., Weatherly. Various power tools were removed. There is a co-defendant in the case. Zeigler was stopped by Hazleton police in a stolen car after the entry and one of the missing power tools was found in the vehicle.He pleaded to an incident on Feb. 18 in which he took copper piping from property owned by Paul Miller in Weatherly.Zeigler told Matika he had a heroin habit and stole to feed that habit.Matika told Zeigler, "It's a sad day when anyone's life spirals out of control over the use of illegal drugs."On the DUI charge the four- to 24-month term was imposed along with a fine of $1,500, 18-month license suspension, must render 100 hours of community service when released on parole, get a drug and alcohol evaluation and follow any recommendation for treatment, zero tolerance imposed on D&A use, pay court costs, which average about $1,000, and pay a $50 per month supervision fee when released on parole.On a charge of possession of a controlled substance, which occurred at the vehicle stop, he was placed on probation for a year, concurrent with the DUI sentence.On the first theft count he was sentenced to serve one to 12 months in prison, concurrent, and ordered to make restitution of $2,851.97 to Kunkle for his share of the total taken. On the second theft count he was placed on probation for a year, concurrent, and ordered to make total restitution of $612.Zeigler is currently an inmate in the Luzerne County prison facing drug and unauthorized use of an automobile charges.