A Carbon County man was sentenced in four cases on Monday in the county court.

He was one of four defendants who previously entered guilty pleas to be sentenced by Judge Steven R. Serfass.

Theft

Ludwig T. Auch-Schwelk, 47, of Albrightsville, was sentenced on charges of one count each of DUI of a controlled substance, access device fraud, theft by deception and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He was arrested on the DUI charge on Feb. 2, 2019; on the access device case on Feb. 11, 2020, using another person’s credit card; theft count on Sept. 5, 2019, involving a check; and drug count on Dec. 28, 2020, when a warrant was served on him.

All the arrests were by state police at Fern Ridge. The theft counts involve a neighbor as the victim.

On the DUI count he was sentenced to time-served (139 days) to six months in prison, and paroled. He was ordered to pay a fine of $1,000 and license suspended for a year.

On the theft count he was sentenced to serve one to one day less 24 months in prison; on access device charge to serve six to one day less 24 months and possession of drug paraphernalia, he was placed on probation for six months, consecutive to the jail terms, which all run concurrently.

He was also ordered to pay restitution of $1,950.64 to the victim, supply a DNA sample and render 100 hours of community service when paroled.

A probation revocation hearing was held prior to the sentencing and Auch-Schwelk admitted to violating his probation after being arrested on the instant charges.

In that case he was sentenced to serve six to 12 months in prison, concurrent with the other cases.

He is currently an inmate in the county prison. A request to serve the remaining time on weekends was denied by Serfass. He was granted work release privileges.

Drug charge

Jerel Daniel Graham, 35, of Lansford, was sentenced to serve six to 12 months in prison on a charge of possession of a controlled substance. He was arrested on Oct. 6, 2020, by Lehighton police in the area of the Exxon station along Route 443. Police were dispatched to a report of suspicious activity. Police found illegal substances on Graham.

Serfass rejected a request for a probation, noting Graham’s long criminal history.

He recently completed a state prison term and admitted to drug issues. He also said he is dealing with mental health problems.

He told the court, “I’m getting as much help as I can.”

He was also ordered to continue his current drug counseling program and get a mental health evaluation and follow any recommendation for treatment.

He will begin the jail term at 9 a.m. on Aug. 30. He was granted work release privileges.

Weapons count

Steven Edward Hayes, 28, of Lewistown, Mifflin County, was placed in the Restrictive Conditions of Probation program (house arrest), on a charge of firearms not to be carried without a license. He was arrested on Oct. 27, 2019, by Lansford police following an incident at the Penn Mart on Patterson Street. Police responded to the business for a report of a man asleep at a table. Hayes was found in possession of a pistol and had no license for it.

As part of the two-year program he was sentenced to time-served (125 days) in prison with 90 days spent on electronic monitoring. He was ordered to get a drug and alcohol evaluation, zero tolerance for drug or alcohol use, supply a DNA sample and render 100 hours of community service.

The program supervision will be transferred to Mifflin County.

Sex offender

Christopher Jon Schnell Jr., 24, of Lehighton, was sentenced to time-served (29 days) to one day less 24 months on a charge of obstruction in the administration of law. Nesquehoning police charged Schnell with failure to register as required under Megan’s Law as a sexual offender. In a plea bargain with the DA’s office a felony 3 count of fail to register was dropped.

He was also ordered to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and render 100 hours of community service.

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