A Carbon County man entered guilty pleas in three pending cases on Monday in Carbon County court.

He was one of 13 defendants in pending criminal cases to enter a plea before Judge Joseph J. Matika.

Nesquehoning incidents

Kristopher Dunbar

, 44, of Nesquehoning, pleaded to two counts of resisting arrest and counts of simple assault and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He was arrested by Nesquehoning police in all the cases for incidents on Oct. 4 and Dec. 29, 2017, and Feb. 16, 2018. In the resisting and assault cases, the victims were his then girlfriend and police officer Carl Breiner of Nesquehoning and Detective Lee Marzen of Jim Thorpe, who was assisting in the incident.

Matika placed him on probation for a total of two years and ordered he render a total of 100 hours of community service, attend and successfully complete an anger management course, supply a DNA sample, make restitution of $68.94 and get a drug and alcohol evaluation and follow any recommendation for treatment.

Other pleas

Brandon Zeigler

, 28, of Weatherly, pleaded to one count each of fleeing or attempting to elude police and driving under suspension - DUI related. He was arrested on May 4, 2018, by Weatherly police along Laurel Street where he fled an attempted vehicle stop.

On the fleeing count he was sentenced to serve 30 days to 12 months in prison, and on the suspension charge 30 to 60 days in jail, but must serve the full 60 days, and pay a fine of $500. The terms run concurrently. He was given credit for 52 days already served and paroled.

He is currently an inmate in the county prison serving a parole violation term.

Frank C. Helmer

, 63, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to one count of simple assault with a felony count of aggravated assault dropped in a plea bargain with the district attorney’s office. He was arrested on Oct. 18, 2017, by Jim Thorpe police for assaulting a male in an area along Center Street. The police report indicated the victim needed medical attention and sustained a punctured lung.

Matika placed Helmer on probation for a year and ordered he get both a drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations.

Kenneth Ryan Coley,

38, of Wilkes-Barre, pleaded to one count of recklessly endangering another person and a summary offense of exceeding the speed limit. He was arrested on Jan. 26 along Interstate 80 in Kidder Township by state police at Fern Ridge. After stopping, Coley fled the scene and a 3-mile chase ensued before he stopped a second time. A felony count of fleeing or attempting to elude police was dropped in a plea deal with the DA.

Matika placed him on probation for a year and ordered he render 50 hours of community service, supply a DNA sample and make restitution of $62.50.

Michael Rivera,

38, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded to one count of receiving stolen property. He was arrested on July 15, 2018, by Kidder Township police along Route 534. He was driving a vehicle that had a stolen registration plate on it.

He was placed on probation for a year and ordered to render 50 hours of community service. The term runs concurrent with a 11½- to 23-month prison term he is serving in Berks County, Reading.

Thomas Tracy,

72, formerly of Weatherly, pleaded to one count of persistent disorderly conduct. He was arrested on May 3, 2019, by Weatherly police for an incident along Evergreen Avenue involving a female victim. Two counts of simple assault were dropped in a plea deal with the DA.

Matika sentenced him to time-served 319 days. Tracy has been an inmate in the county prison since his arrest.

Kaitlyn Jane Hill,

31, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count of hindering apprehension. She was arrested on July 19, 2018, by sheriff deputies for an incident along Stock Street in Nesquehoning. The deputies were serving a warrant on another person and Hill interfered with the service of the warrant.

She is currently an inmate in the county prison. Sentencing was deferred.

Hailie R. McGowan,

39, of Summit Hill, pleaded to one count of flight to avoid apprehension. She was arrested on May 4, 2019, by Palmerton police for an incident along Lehigh Avenue. Police were attempting to serve a probation warrant when she fled.

Matika placed her on probation for a year and ordered her to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and supply a DNA sample.

She is currently an inmate in the county prison on a probation violating charge and has another pending charge.

Andrew Manno,

39, of Summit Hill, pleaded to one count of persistent disorderly conduct. He was arrested on May 15, 2018, in Summit Hill for an incident involving a young child being left alone. A charge of endangering the welfare of a child was dropped in a plea deal with the DA.

He was placed on probation for a year and ordered to render 50 hours of community service and get a mental health evaluation.

Edward C. Brown,

63, of Tamaqua, pleaded to one count of terroristic threats. He was arrested by Lansford police on Aug. 25, 2017, for an incident at a residence along West Ridge Street. The charge was downgraded from a felony to a misdemeanor with charges of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person dropped in a plea deal with the DA.

Matika also questioned whether the commonwealth was seeking to invoke the deadly weapon enhancement section of the law since the police report indicated that Brown had used a knife to threaten the male victim and also made verbal threats to shoot the victim. Assistant District Attorney Brian Gazo said the commonwealth was not seeking the enhancement provision, which saved Brown from a possible prison term. Gazo said the victim was in agreement with the plea bargain.

Matika placed him on probation for six months and ordered he get a mental health evaluation, render 25 hours of community service, supply a DNA sample and have no contact with the victim.

Zachary P. Chandler,

33, of Waterbury, Connecticut, pleaded to one count each of retail theft, accidents involving damage to an attended vehicle and fleeing or attempting to elude police. He was arrested by Mahoning Township police for an incident at the Verizon store along Route 443 when Chandler and another man stole multiple items from the store. He fled in a vehicle and struck parked cars in the parking area as he fled.

As part of the plea deal, in which eight other criminal counts including felony burglary charges were dropped, Chandler must testify against his co-defendant, who has never been found.

Matika deferred sentencing and ordered a presentence investigation report be prepared by the adult probation office and also so Chandler can apply for placement in the Intermediate Punishment Program - house arrest.

John E. Mann,

45, of Plymouth, Luzerne County, pleaded to one count each of theft and summary harassment. He was arrested on June 19, 2016, by state police at Hazleton for the theft of a cellphone in Tresckow, Banks Township. There were 18 continuances in the case. Charges of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person were dropped in a plea deal with the DA.

On the theft charge, Matika sentenced him to serve 30 days to 12 months in jail, render 50 hours of community service, supply a DNA sample and have no contact with the victim. On the harassment charge he was fined $100.

He was given credit for 28 days served in jail on the charge. He will begin serving the remaining two days on April 3, at 5 p.m.

Christopher Miller,

29, of Weatherly, pleaded to one count of escape. He was arrested on July 12, 2017, by Weatherly police after he fled custody along East Main Street into nearby woods. He was later apprehended.

He was placed on probation for a year and ordered to get both drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations, supply a DNA sample and render 50 hours of community service.

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