A Carbon County man pleaded guilty on Tuesday in the county court to three burglary counts and also driving under the influence and driving under suspension.

Stephen Michael Holmes, 32, of Palmerton, entered the pleas before Judge Steven R. Serfass for incidents that occurred on and around Aug. 9, 2016.State police at Lehighton arrested Holmes while he was driving a utility task vehicle around Hahns Dairy and adjoining roads in Lower Towamensing Township. Holmes was traveling west on Hahns Dairy Road and turned right onto Walnut Road, where he dumped the vehicle and ran into a heavily wooded area.Troopers chased him into a field, where the troopers caught up with Holmes, took him into custody, and transported him to Palmerton Hospital for a blood test, which revealed a controlled substance in his system.Holmes was then transported to the state police barracks and admitted to committing between 30-40 burglaries in the area, including stealing the Honda ATV he was driving during a burglary along Strohl Valley Road June, 5-8, 2016.In the burglary along Strohl Valley Road, Holmes entered the cabin and caused damages inside the residence while consuming food.The owners of the property told Serfass that electronics and other items were damaged, but that was the least of their concerns. They said Holmes damaged the property around the cabin with the ATV he stole and they considered it "sacred ground" because their son died in an accident on the property about two years earlier. They also said they felt that Holmes was in and out of the property for some time before being caught. They told of a strip of nails they claimed Holmes placed across an access road which caused damages to their vehicle and another vehicle.Defense attorney Brian Collins said his client wanted to apply for placement in the state's intermediate punishment program, which the commonwealth was not objecting to.Holmes was originally charged with 30 criminal counts.Serfass accepted the pleas and remanded Holmes to the custody of the sheriff's department. Holmes will be transferred to a state correctional institution to be evaluated for the state IP program. Sentencing will occur after the evaluation is completed.Serfass told the victims he will review what they told him at the time of sentencing and added they will be notified of the sentencing date and could attend and speak to the court before the sentencing.