A Palmerton man admitted in the Carbon County court on Tuesday to using the credit card of the Palmerton Area Community Ambulance Association for his own personal use.

Christopher Karper, 33, Lansford, pleaded to one count of theft by deception.

Palmerton police were contacted by an officer of the ambulance association in February 2020 that a member had used a credit card without permission to purchase gasoline for his own personal use.

Police contact Karper, who admitted he did purchase gasoline for his own vehicle using the association’s credit card. He was employed by the association at the time. Police said he made 36 individual purchases totaling $1,503.27.

Karper said he had no money of his own to buy gasoline for his car. He has since made full restitution to the association for the money lost.

Nanovic agreed to sentence Karper in the mitigated range of state sentencing guidelines and placed him on probation for two years and ordered he supply a DNA sample. The guidelines had called for a minimum prison term of three months.