A Easton man pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in Carbon County court on Monday, admitting he killed a Lehighton resident by cutting his throat.

Yessy Rivera, 30, entered his plea before Judge Steven R. Serfass. His plea was to criminal homicide in the third degree. Sentencing guidelines under state law calls for a sentence to fall between 20 and 40 years.

State police at Lehighton charged Rivera with killing Brian Paul Lindner, 44, of 929 Coal St., Lehighton on April 30, 2017.

On May 2, 2017, emergency personnel and law enforcement agencies responded to the home of Michael W. Jerden Jr., at 929 Coal St., where they found Lindner’s body face down in a pool of blood in the basement. Troopers said Lindner’s throat had been cut.

Rivera was later found in Easton and taken into custody. He was charged with criminal homicide and two counts of aggravated assault and one count of theft.

He also pleaded guilty to a charge of firearms not to be carried without a license for an incident. The charge was filed by state police at Hazleton for an incident on Jan. 13, 2014. In a plea agreement, the sentence imposed on that charge will be concurrent with the sentence imposed for third-degree murder.

Serfass deferred sentencing, ordering a presentence investigation report be prepared by the adult probation office. Rivera has been in prison since his arrest.

Further details concerning the plea will appear in Tuesday’s Times News.