A Palmerton man was sentenced last week in Carbon County court to a state prison term after pleading guilty to theft charges.

Robert F. Dreste III, 31, pleaded before Judge Joseph J. Matika to one count of receiving stolen property, as a felony 3, and was sentenced to serve 15 to 36 months in a state correctional institution.

He was charged for an incident on March 31, 2020, by Palmerton police. He was also charged with theft by Franklin Township police for an incident on March 25, 2020.

According to Franklin Township police report:

At 10:20 a.m. March 25, Police Chief Jason Doll was dispatched to the Beltzville Manor Marina for the report of a theft.

Doll met with the owner, who said that at 2:40 a.m. earlier that day someone entered the lot and drove out, smashing through the gate with their 2003 Dodge pickup. The owner said they leave the keys in the truck because it is locked in the yard, and noted that the truck has its own registration plate on it, and also has a dealer plate inside that they use to move the boats around. That vehicle, as well as the other registration plate, were entered into NCIC.

On March 26, Doll was called to the business to meet with the owner, who showed him a bag of items that was found just outside of their lot in a farm field just east of his property by the man who farms the land. The owner said the items were not there the day before the theft. The items in the bag were two lighters, cigarettes, a glove, and a credit card bearing the name Robert Dreste III, 30, of Palmerton.

At 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, Palmerton Police department received a dispatch to a call of a suspicious vehicle parked in the lot of a nursing home in the borough.

When the officers from Palmerton approached, the vehicle fled and police attempted to stop it.

A pursuit of the vehicle began and ended in the 800 block of Delaware Avenue when the vehicle came to a stop and Dreste, along with a female passenger, ran from the vehicle. Dreste was caught by a Palmerton officer, at which time Doll matched the vehicle identification number from this vehicle to the truck that was stolen from Beltzville Manor Marina.

Dreste was then taken to the Palmerton police station to be interviewed, but he just continued to cry and say, “I am (expletive) either way.”

Dreste said he was with his girlfriend and they were homeless.

Doll then asked if they were looking for some place to sleep the night the truck was taken, and Dreste said, “I was just so cold and she was cold.”

Doll then asked if that was why Dreste took the truck to stay warm, but he would not answer.

Matika also ordered Dreste to make restitution of $1,000 in the Franklin Township case and restitution of $6,132.33 in the Palmerton incident; supply a DNA sample, stay off the Beltzville Manor property, render 100 hours of community service when paroled, and pay court costs of about $1,000.

Dreste has been in the county prison since his arrest in the cases and was given credit for 325 days already served.