A Hazleton woman pleaded guilty in Carbon County court on Thursday to a drug dealing charge.

She was one of 16 defendants in pending criminal cases to enter a guilty plea before Judge Joseph J. Matika.

Weatherly incident

Briana Nicole Gipson, 25, pleaded to one count of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance - heroin.

She was arrested on May 3, 2019, by Weatherly police in the area of 200 Hudsondale Street. Police responded to a residence for a reported overdose victim and found Gipson and illegal substances.

Matika told Gipson, under state sentencing guidelines, she faces a minimum prison term of somewhere between three and 12 months up to a maximum of 15 years on the felony charge.

Sentencing was deferred so Gipson can apply for the house arrest program.

Other cases

Skye Veronica Kremsner, 21, of North Catasauqua, entered guilty pleas in two pending cases to a felony 3 charge of escape and a misdemeanor 2 charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

She was arrested on the escape charge on Jan. 14 by Franklin Township police in the 400 block of Canal Street. She was eventually taken to the Lehighton state police barracks in Towamensing Township. While there, she asked to use the bathroom facilities and attempted to escape from the barracks.

The unauthorized use charge stems from an incident on Dec. 3, 2020, filed by Franklin Township police when she stole the 2005 Honda CRV of a township resident. In exchange for that plea, two felony counts of theft and receiving stolen property were dropped.

Kremsner made her plea via video from the county prison, where she is being held on the charges.

On the escape count Matika sentenced her to time-served (162 days) to 23 months in prison and one year probation on the unauthorized use count, with the terms running concurrently.

She was also ordered to render 75 hours of community service, supply a DNA sample, have no contact with the victim in the vehicle theft and have pre-parole plan in place before she is released from prison.

Stephen R. Lassell, 31, of Lehighton, pleaded in two pending cases to one count each of possession of drug paraphernalia and driving while operating privileges are suspended or revoked.

He was arrested on the drug count on Sept. 23, 2020, by state police at Lehighton along Interchange Road in Towamensing Township. The second charge stems from a vehicle stop on July 8, 2020, by Nesquehonoing police along Fourth Avenue.

On the drug count he was placed on probation for a year and ordered to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and render 50 hours of community service. On the summary offense he was fined $25.

The probation runs concurrent with another sentence he is serving.

Jeremiah J. Exner, 39, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. In exchange for the plea two felony counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and criminal use of a communication facility and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance were dropped in a plea deal.

He was arrested on Feb. 16, 2020, by Jim Thorpe police along Interchange Road as part of an ongoing county drug task force operation.

He was fined $150.

Jeramey Scott Lafollette, 37, of Shartlesville, Berks County, pleaded in two pending cases to one count each of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. In the drug case a felony possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance was dropped.

He was arrested on the drug charges on March 1, 2018, by Lansford police in the parking lot of Boyer’s Market on West Bertsch Street. He was found in vehicle with illegal substances. The unauthorized use stems from the same incident. The vehicle he was in he had no authorization to have.

He was placed on probation for a year on all counts with the terms running concurrently. He was also ordered to get a drug and alcohol evaluation, render 50 hours of community service and have no contact with the victim in the vehicle case.

Daniel Eugene Parrish, 20, of Medford, New York, pleaded to one count of simple assault. In exchange for the plea a felony count of strangulation was dropped in a plea deal.

He was arrested on May 25 by Kidder Township police at the Econo Lodge along Route 940. Police responded to a domestic incident in one of the rooms. Parrish was charged with assaulting a female in the room.

Parrish entered the plea via video from the county prison, where he is an inmate on the charges.

Matika sentenced him to time-served (35 days) to one year in jail, ordered he supply a DNA sample, render 50 hours of community service and have no contact with the victim.

Amy Louise Steigerwalt, 34, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

She was arrested on Dec. 23, 2020, by state police at Lehighton following a traffic stop along Route 248 near the Palmerton exit. Methamphetamine was found in the vehicle.

She was placed on probation for a year and ordered to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and render 50 hours of community service.

Jason Carl Koons, 39, of Bowmanstown, pleaded to one count of indecent exposure with a count of open lewdness dropped.

He was arrested on March 12 by state police at Lehighton for an incident along White Street in Bowmanstown.

Defense attorney Eric Wiltrout, of the public defender’s office, said Koons suffers from mental health issues.

His plea was by video from the county prison where he is being held on the charges.

Matika placed him on probation for 18 months and ordered he get both drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations, supply a DNA sample and provide a pre-parole plan before being released from prison.

Heather M. Villalongo, 40, of Sicklerville, New Jersey, pleaded to one count of disorderly conduct, a summary offense, which was added to the original complaint. A charge of resisting arrest was dropped in a plea bargain. Her plea was done via Zoom from her home in New Jersey.

Matika imposed a fined of $25.

Christine Philana Negron, 42, of Allentown, pleaded to the summary motor vehicle code offense of disregard for traffic lane. Charges of driving under the influence of a controlled substance were dropped.

She was arrested on June 30, 2019, by state police at Lehighton along Route 443 in Mahoning Township, following a vehicle stop.

She was fined $25.

Jessyca Smale, 23, of Summit Hill, pleaded to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

She was arrested on July 11, 2018, by Summit Hill police. She was originally charge with two counts of theft and one count each of receiving stolen property and access device fraud and the drug charge. Police said the case was for the illegal use of a family members’ credit card.

Matika placed her on probation for a year and ordered she get a drug and alcohol evaluation.

Matthew E. Markley, 32, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count of criminal mischief. A felony 2 count of criminal trespass was dropped in a plea deal.

He was arrested on Oct. 22, 2019, by state police at Lehighton for an incident along East White Street in Bowmanstown.

Sentencing was deferred.

Quavon Zamontrel Taylor, 25, of Hopewell, Virginia, pleaded to one count of accidents involving damage to attended vehicle or property.

He was arrested on April 26, 2019, by Franklin Township police when he was involved in a hit-and-run crash along Canal Street. He was the operator of a tractor-trailer rig that caused damages to property. His plea was done via Zoom from his home.

Matika imposed a fine of $500.

Peter Paul Perigrino, 78, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to two summary counts of harassment and disorderly conduct with a simple assault charge dropped in a plea deal.

He was arrested on July 27, 2020, by state police at Lehighton for an incident at a rod and gun club in Lower Towamensing Township. Troopers said he got into a physical altercation with another male at the club.

On the conduct charge Matika placed him on probation for six months and ordered he get a drug and alcohol evaluation, make restitution to the victim of $893.50 and have no contact with the victim. On the harassment count he was fined $100.

Javon Laney, 32, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty in two pending cases to two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia. In exchange for the plea in the first case a felony count of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance was dropped along with a possession of a controlled substance charge.

The first arrest occurred on Jan. 23, 2019, following a traffic stop along Interstate 80 in Kidder Township. The second arrest occurred on April 20, 2019, also along I-80 in Kidder. Both arrests were made by state police at Fern Ridge.

Matika imposed probation for one year on each count, running concurrently, and ordered he get a drug and alcohol evaluation and render 50 hours of community service.

Annmarie D. Spence, 43, of Weatherly, pleaded to a motor vehicle violation of lighting requirements and a charge of disorderly conduct, which was added to the original complaint. In exchange for the plea misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest and obstruction in the administration of law were dropped in a plea deal.

She was arrested on Oct. 23, 2020, by Weatherly police along Plane Street following a traffic stop.

On the conduct charge she was fined $150 and on the summary offense fined $25.

Each defendant sentenced must also pay court costs of about $1,000 and a $50 per month supervision fee while on parole or probation.