A Schuylkill County judge has sentenced a Coaldale man to serve up to 48 months in state prison for operating a meth lab.

President Judge William Baldwin on Jan. 14 sentenced Jason Shiffert, 34, to 18 to 36 months, plus an additional six to 12 months for having a volatile chemical, liquified ammonia gas.Coaldale police on Feb. 21, 2014, charged Shiffert with manufacture of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, possession of liquified ammonia gas with the intent to manufacture a controlled substance, possession of pseudoephedrine, lithium and ammonium nitrate with the intent to manufacture a controlled substance, operating a methamphetamine lab and possession of a controlled substance.The commonwealth dropped charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of chemicals with intent to manufacture, and possession of a controlled substance.Other local people sentenced to jail were:Adam Cruz, 30, of Tamaqua: He was charged on Nov. 14, 2013, with four felony counts of manufacture, or manufacture with intent to deliver a controlled substance and related charges. Baldwin sentenced him to six to 23 months in jail. Charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication facility, and two counts of possession of a controlled substance were dropped.Percy Brown, 34, of Tamaqua: He was charged for drug sales on April 10, April 17 and May 1, 2014. Charges from each of the April incidents included two felony counts of possession with intent to deliver, a felony count of criminal use of a communication facility and a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance. In May, he was charged with one felony count of possession with intent to deliver, one felony count of possession of a controlled substance, a felony count of criminal use of a communication facility and a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance.On the charges from April 10, 2014, Baldwin sentenced Brown to six to 24 months in state prison. Charges of possession with intent to deliver, criminal use of a communication facility and possession of a controlled substance were dropped.On the April 17 charges, Brown was sentenced to six to 24 months in state prison, to be served consecutively.On the charges from the May 2014 incidents, Baldwin sentenced Brown to one to two years in state prison, to be served consecutively to the other punishments. The same charges were dropped as in the April case.Glenn Bowman, 52, Tamaqua: He was charged on March 20, 2014, by Tamaqua police with delivery of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication facility, and possession of a small amount of marijuana.The commonwealth dropped the charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, criminal use of a communication facility, and possession of a small amount of marijuana, and sentenced him to time served up to 23 months, to be served at the same time as his identical sentence on drug charges stemming from an April 3, 2014, drug arrest.In that case, he was charged with delivery of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver, criminal use of a communication facility, and possession of a small amount of marijuana. All but the delivery charge were dropped.