A Slatington man was sentenced to a state prison term last Monday in Carbon County court on a driving under the influence charge.

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

Palmerton incident

William C. Jones III, 26, was sentenced to serve 12 to 84 months in a state correctional institution on the DUI count.

He was arrested on Jan. 6, 2019, by Palmerton police along Delaware Avenue.

On a charge of driving under suspension - DUI related, he was sentenced to serve 45 to 90 days in jail, concurrent with the DUI term.

He was also ordered to pay a fine of $2,500 for the DUI charge and $500 fine for the suspension count, license suspension of 18 months and zero tolerance for drug or alcohol use.

He was given credit for 12 days already served.

He is currently an inmate in the county prison and is facing another DUI count in Northampton County.

Other cases

Joseph Bruce Harrisson, 33, of Weatherly, was sentenced on two DUI counts to serve a total of 30 days to six months in prison.

He was arrested on Oct. 23, 2020, along Lehigh Drive in Palmerton by state police at Lehighton; and then on Feb. 27, by Weatherly police along Pane Street after being involved in a crash. In both cases he was charged with DUI of a controlled substance.

In the first case he was ordered to pay a fine of $1,000 and one-year license suspension; in the second case a fine of $1,000 and another one year suspension. He was also ordered to render a total of 50 hours of community service and make restitution for damages of $410 to the borough of Weatherly.

He will begin serving the prison term at 10 a.m. on Sept. 27 and serve it on consecutive two-day periods of Monday to Wednesday.

Manuel Gerard Thomas, 28, of Lehighton, was placed on probation for a year on a charge of possession of a controlled substance. In a plea bargain with the district attorney’s office two felony counts of criminal conspiracy - possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and PWID dropped.

He was arrested on May 26, 2020, by state police at Lehighton.

He was also ordered to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and render 50 hours of community service.

Shane Schiano, 42, of Hazleton, was sentenced to serve 72 hours to six months in jail, pay a fine of $1,000 and license suspended for a year on a DUI charge. He was given credit for four days already served and paroled.

He was arrested on Feb. 29, 2020, by Lehighton police along Route 443.

He must also render 25 hours of community service.

Nicholas A. Issler, 34, of Brodheadsville, was sentenced to serve 72 hours to six months in jail, pay a fine of $1,000 and license suspended for a year for DUI.

He was arrested on Sept. 9, 2020, by state police at Lehighton. He must also render 25 hours of community service.

He is currently an inmate in the Carbon prison and will spend the next three days there and then be transferred to the Lehigh County prison, where he is facing other criminal matters.

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