A Lehighton woman admitted in Carbon County court on Tuesday to her part in the theft of two vehicles and the endangerment of her children and was sentenced to a prison term. She was one of seven defendants in pending cases to enter guilty pleas before President Judge Roger N. Nanovic II.

Drug problemMelissa A. Pankevitch, 28, entered guilty pleas in three pending cases. She admitted her part in the theft of a Chevorlet Blazer from the lot of 443 Auto Sales in Mahoning Township and a Honda Civic from a resident in Jim Thorpe.She also pleaded to one count of endangering the welfare of a child for an incident that occurred at her then residence along Jamestown Street in Mahoning Township.Police repsonded to the residence on Jan. 19 after neighbors called to report two of Pankevitch's children had left the home and came to their residence seeking food because they were hungry. They left he home with no coats or other heavy clothing in 30 degree weather.When police entered the home they found Pankevitch and her then live-in boyfriend, Wallace Baldwin, asleep in an upstairs bedroom. Both were initially unresponsive and paramedics were called. When the ambulance personnel arrived they were able to get both to respond.Pankevitch told Nanovic she had a long-term drug abuse problem, but denied being under the influence of any drugs the day of the incident with her children.She said the vehicle thefts occurred a day apart, March 1 and 2. Pankevitch and her co-defendant in the thefts, Christopher Paul Farley, of West Hazleton, were arrested when the arrived at the office of District Judge Edward Lewis, of Jim Thorpe, for a hearing on another matter. Both drove to the hearing in the stolen vehicles.Pankevitch said she had undergone drug counseling and inpatient rehabiliation but said she started using again and claimed she got involved with Farley to get money to buy drugs.Farley has charges pending. He was scheduled to plead guilty yesterday but changed his mind and had his three pending cases referred back to the pretrial list.Nanovic sentenced Pankevitch to serve six to 18 months on each theft count, running concurrently, and three to one day less six months on the endangering charge, running consecutively for a total sentence of nine to one day less 24 months.She was also ordered to get a drug and alcohol (D&A) evaluation and follow any recommendation for treatment, supply a DNA sample and pay the $250 fee, and make restutition to 443 Auto for $1,045.18 for damages to the Blazer. She was given credit for 188 days spent in jail on the charges.Wallace Badwin, 27, of Carbondale, formerly of Lehighton, and Pankevitch's co-defendant in the endangering case, pleaded guilty to one count of endangering the welfare of a child for the Jan. 19 incident.Baldwin told Nanovic he has ended the relationship with Pankevitch, which spans 16 years and two children. He also said he had charges pending in Luzerne County.Nanovic sentenced him to serve thee to 18 months in prison followed by one year probation. He was given credit for 218 days spent in jail on the charges and was paroled.He was also ordered to get both D&A and mental health evaluations and attend parenting classes.He will be turned over to Luzerne authorities for the other pending charges.Other pleasThe other defendants who entered pleas included the following:Nicole Rose Savage, 21, of Coaldale, pleaded to one count each of posession of a controlled substance-heroin, and possession of drug paraphernalia.She was arrested on May 21, 2010, by agents of the state Attorney General's office and the county drug task force after she was invovled in the sale of heroin to a confidential informant (CI), in Jim Thorpe.She was sentenced on Aug. 11 in Schuylkill County to a prison term of six to 23 months on unrelated charges.Nanovic placed her on probation for a year on both counts that run consecutive to each other and consecutive to the Schuylkill sentence.She was also ordered to get a D&A evaluation, and zero tolerance imposed on D&A use with random testing.Anthony Joseph Napolitano, 26, of Summit Hill, pleaded guilty to one count of criminal use of a communication facility. He was arrested on July 12 by agents of the AG office after selling heroin to a CI in Summit Hill.Napolitano told Nanovic he had been a drug abuser but stopped. At the time of his arrest he said was selling drugs for profit only.Nanovic sentenced him to time served (57 days) to 18 months in jail followed by one year probation. He was also ordered to get a D&A evaluation, supply a DNA sample and pay the $250 fee, and zero tolerance imposed on D&A use with random testing.Steven G. Keach, 19, of Tamaqua, pleaded to one count each of terroristic threats and simple assault. He was arrested by Mahoning Township police for an incident on July 11 in the Packerton Hollow area. He assaulted April Mathias at that location. The two had a prior relationship, but she said it had ended sometime earlier. He was charged with choking her and hitting her in the face.Nanovic placed him on probation for two years on each count with the terms running consecutively. He was also ordered to get both D&A and mental health evaluations, attend and complete anger management classes, and have no contact with the victim. He was given credit for 58 days spent in jail on the charges.Christine Marie Evans, 28, of Berwick, pleaded to one count of retail theft, as a felony three. She was arrested on July 26, 2010, at the Walmart store in Mahoning Township where she attempted to steal a computer valued at $1,075.99.She is currently in the Monroe County prison serving a sentence for retail theft. She told Nanovic she stole to support a drug habit.Nanovic sentenced her to serve one to 18 months in prison, concurrent with the Monroe County sentence. She was also ordered to get a D&A evaluation and supply a DNA sample and pay the $250 fee.Jamie Rehrig, 36, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count each of driving under the influence (DUI) and driving under suspension-DUI related. He was arrested on July 23, 2010, by Lehighton police. Given a test, the result was .15BAC.When police attempted to stop him he did not respond to the emergency lights and siren of the police cruiser. He was eventually stopped at the entrance to the turnpike in Franklin Township.On the DUI charge Nanovic sentenced him to serve 10 days to six months in jail, a fine of $3,000, one year license suspension, get a D&A evaluation and zero tolerance on D&A use with random testing.On the suspension count he was sentenced to serve 90 days in jail, a fine of $1,000 and another year suspension. The jail terms run consecutively.He will begin the jail term at 10 a.m. on Sept. 20 and was granted work release privileges.ARD placementMarie L. Henning, 25, of Lehighton, was placed in the county's Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition (ARD) probation program for first time offenders. If she successfully completes the program her record will be wiped clean. Failure to complete the program means she can be prosecuted on all pending charges. She did not admit guilt in entering the program.She was placed for a year on a DUI charge. She was arrested on June 5 along Susquehanna St., in Jim Thorpe. Given a test, the result was .28BAC.She was ordered to pay $450 for the cost of the program, get a D&A evaluation and her license suspended for 60 days.Each defendant must also pay court costs, which average about $1,000, and a $50 per month supervision fee while on probation or parole.