Guilty pleas entered in drug-related cases
The following defendants entered pleas before Judge Joseph J. Matika in drug-related cases on Thursday in Carbon County court.
David Michael Wagner, 24, of Winterport, Maine, and formerly of Lansford, pleaded to one count of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.He was arrested on March 6, 2014, when agents of the AG office and the county drug task force executed a search warrant at 429 E. Ridge St., Lansford. Found in the home were 197 bags of heroin and other drug paraphernalia.Wagner has spent a year in a drug rehabilitation program in Maine. He said he wants to stay in Maine, where he found employment.Matika deferred sentencing because arrangements have to be made concerning supervision of Wagner being transferred to Maine, if that state will accept the case. If not, Wagner would have to return to Pennsylvania to serve out any supervision period.Rachel Lee Rebarchick, 21, of Hazleton, pleaded to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.She was arrested on Oct. 28, 2014, by Kidder Township police along Route 940 at the Country Place Inn. She was a passenger in a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation. She was found to have packages of heroin on her.She is currently on supervision in Schuylkill County on a drug charge.Matika placed her on probation for a year, consecutive to her Schuylkill sentence, and ordered her to get a D&A evaluation, zero tolerance on D&A use, and render 50 hours of community service.Jesse Lee Fine, 28, of Wapwallopen, Luzerne County, pleaded to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.He was arrested on Jan. 14 by Weatherly police along East Main Street after being stopped for speeding (68 mph in a 35 zone). He was found to have in his possession a pipe for smoking marijuana.Matika placed him on probation for a year and ordered he get a D&A evaluation and render 50 hours of community service.Alphonso Dalessio, 37, of Bethlehem, pleaded to one count each of criminal use of a communication device and possession of drug paraphernalia.He was arrested on Jan. 31, 2014, by agents of the AG office in the 200 block of East Holland Street in Summit Hill. He sold heroin to a confidential informant.Because he is facing a prison term at the time of sentencing, Matika ordered the adult probation office to prepare a presentence investigation report.Allen Scott Bauder Jr., 30, of Lansford, pleaded to one count each of possession of drug paraphernalia and receiving stolen property.He was arrested on Jan. 20 by Lansford police along Sharpe Street following a vehicle stop. Found in the car were various prescriptions, including one that had been stolen leading to the receiving count.Matika placed him on probation for a year on each count, running concurrently, and ordered he get a D&A evaluation and zero tolerance for D&A use.Alice Mildred Donovan, 38, of McAdoo, and formerly of Lansford, pleaded to one count of possession of a controlled substance.She was arrested on Nov. 6, 2014, when Lansford police responded to the area of Patterson and Tunnel streets to a report of a intoxicated person attempting to give pills to three juveniles. A charge of corruption of a minor was dropped in a plea bargain.Matika imposed a fine of $50.Jason Daniel Ahn, 31, of Lansford, pleaded to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.He was arrested on Feb. 5, along Chestnut Street at Kline Avenue, Lansford, by state police at Lehighton. Troopers said they found a pipe used to smoke illegal substances on his person.Matika placed him on probation for six months.Each defendant sentenced must also pay court costs of about $1,000 and a $50 per month supervision fee while on probation or parole.