An Effort man entered guilty pleas on Monday in Carbon County court to two counts of simple assault.

He was one of six defendants in pending criminal cases to enter a plea before Judge Steven R. Serfass.

Penn Forest incidents

Christopher Petrides, 23, formerly of Stroudsburg, admitted to assaults on Jan. 18, 2019, and July 28, 2019, both at locations in Penn Forest Township.

In the July 28 incident state police at Fern Ridge responded to the Indian Mountain lakes development pool area for two males fighting. On scene troopers learned that Petrides had assaulted a 17-year-old male. The teen suffered injuries that required medical attention.

In the Jan. 18 incident troopers were called to St. Luke’s Monroe Campus for an assault victim. The male said he was assaulted by Petrides at a residence along Milton Way in Albrightsville. The victim claimed that Petrides struck him in the face multiple times with a handgun.

Petrides disputed the police report and said he did not use a handgun in the assault.

Serfass then said if a handgun was used that would invoke the deadly weapon clause in the sentencing guidelines. He wanted the assistant district attorney who negotiated the plea agreement, in which a charge of aggravated assault was dropped, to state if he was asking for the deadly weapon enhancement.

A call was made to ADA Seth Miller, who said the deadly weapon enhancement was not being sought.

In the Jan. 18 case Serfass sentenced Petrides to time-served (35 days) to one year in jail and in the second assault one year probation, consecutive to the first count.

Petrides was also ordered to render a total of 100 hours of community service and have no contact with either victim of the assaults.

Petrides is currently an inmate in the Monroe County prison facing other criminal cases.

Other pleas

Samantha Marie Weil, 29, of Tafton, Pike County, pleaded to one count of possession of a controlled substance. In a plead deal a felony count of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance was dropped.

She was arrested on July 29, 2018 when Lehighton police made a traffic stop. Weil was a passenger in the vehicle. A consent search of the vehicle was made and two bundles of heroin were found in a purse owned by Weil.

Weil told the court since her arrest she spent six months in an inpatient drug rehabilitation program and is currently engaged in a counseling program.

Serfass placed her on probation for 24 months and ordered her to get a drug and alcohol evaluation, zero tolerance for drug or alcohol use and render 100 hours of community service.

Laura Simmons, 32, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to one count of unsworn falsification for an incident on Oct. 7, 2020. Jim Thorpe police said Simmons made a report that she was assaulted by a male but later recanted the story. The charge was added to the original complaint. A charge of statement under penalty was dropped.

Serfass placed her on probation for a year and ordered she render 50 hours of community service.

Brian Lynn Yeakel, 57, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count of disorderly conduct, as a summary offense, with simple assault charge dropped in a plea deal.

On Aug. 14, 2021, Lehighton police responded to a residence along North Third Street for a report of a woman screaming for help. On scene police observed Yeakel on top of a woman involved in an altercation. The victim is a relative of the defendant. He got off her when police arrived.

Serfass imposed a fine of $300.

Michelle Hogen, 40, of Allentown, pleaded to one count of disorderly conduct, as a summary offense, with a charge of false reports to law enforcement dropped in a plea deal.

She was arrested on July 30, 2021, by Lehighton police following a domestic incident at a residence in the borough where she was involved in an altercation with another female.

She was fined $300.

Mariusz Malinowski, 52, of Albrightsville, pleaded to one count of harassment, a misdemeanor 3, for an incident on Jan. 26 filed by state police at Fern Ridge. Troopers responded to a residence in Penn Forest Township for a domestic incident.

He was placed on probation for a year and ordered to get a drug and alcohol evaluation, render 50 hours of community service and have no contact with the victim.

Sentencing

Michael Lee Beil, 35, of Easton, and formerly of Bath, was sentenced on a charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and DUI. He previously entered pleas to the charges. He was arrested on Sept. 24, 2020, by Lehighton police following a vehicle stop.

He is currently an inmate in the Northampton County prison awaiting sentencing on other charges.

On the drug count Serfass sentenced him to serve six to one day less 24 months in prison and on the DUI charge 72 hours to six months in jail with the terms running concurrently.

He was also ordered to supply a DNA sample, zero tolerance for drug or alcohol use, render a total of 125 hours of community service when paroled; pay a fine of $1,000 and a license suspension of one year for the DUI. He was given credit for two days already served.

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