A Northampton County woman, with has at least five prior retail theft convictions, was sentenced to a prison term on Carbon County court on Monday after entering a guilty plea to criminal counts associated with another retail theft incident.

Melissa Ann Yunez, 54, of Bethlehem, pleaded to one count each of theft, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

She was arrested on June 5, 2021, when Mahoning Township police responded to the Walmart store for a retail theft incident. Police said while Yunez was in the self-checkout area she placed 25 items from the store in her purse and left the store without paying for them. When taken into custody she was found with methamphetamine and paraphernalia.

President Judge Roger N. Nanovic II noted the five prior convictions for retail theft. He asked her, “When is enough, enough?”

He said the numerous prior convictions for retail theft had them rated now as felony 3s.

She denied having a drug problem but Nanovic noted she is currently under supervision in Lehigh County for similar offenses and in that count she was ordered to get drug and alcohol counseling.

Yunez then asked for house arrest, which the court denied.

She was sentenced to serve a total of three to 24 months in prison on the three counts and ordered her to get both drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations, zero tolerance for drug or alcohol use, supply a DNA sample, pay court costs of over $1,000 and pay a $50 per month supervision fee while on parole.

Nanovic imposed three to 24 months on the first drug count, two to 24 months on the second drug count and three to 18 months on the theft charge, with all the terms running concurrently.

Nanovic told Yunez, “You got a break by me running the terms concurrently, they could have run consecutively.”

The court agreed to delay the start of her prison term until 1 p.m. on Feb. 24.