Carbon man gets jail for DUI
Schuylkill County President Judge William P. Baldwin has sentenced a Nesquehoning man to 30 days to six months in jail for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Eugene Dacey, 39, will serve his sentence in Carbon County Prison, where he will be on work release.Baldwin also imposed a $1,000 fine, and must get outpatient substance abuse treatment and pay court costs and fees.Dacey was charged on Aug. 25, 2012, by Rush Township police with driving under the influence with a high rate of alcohol. His blood alcohol content was between 0.10 and 0.16, according to court documents. The level of alcohol deemed to trigger impairment is 0.08. It was Dacey's second DUI offense.Dropped charges:Baldwin dropped charges against Thomas Betzler, 20, of Easton. Betzler was charged on Jan. 18 by Rush Township police with speeding and selling or repairing offensive weapons. Details of the charges were unavailable.Bail reduction:Judge John J. Domalakes granted the request of a former Tamaqua woman to have her bail reduced.Andrea Startzel, 43, who now lives in Ashland, was charged on July 13 by Mahanoy Township police with manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to deliver, intent to possess a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, weapons offenses and driving without a license. Bail was initially set at $15,000 cash. Domalakes lowered that to $10,000 percentage, meaning Startzel would have to post $1,000 to gain her freedom.Domalakes imposed restrictions, requiring Startzel to live at 734 Brock St., Ashland, not have or use alcohol or illegal drugs, stay away from bars, appear for all court hearings and submit to random urine tests.Domalakes also granted reduced bail to Nathan G. Fritz, 26, of Tamaqua.Fritz was charged by state police at Frackville on June 26 with theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property. His bail was set at $20,00 cash. Domalakes reduced that to $20,000 unsecured, meaning Fritz does not have to post cash or property.Sally Jane Hartung, 45, of Tamaqua, was also granted a bail reduction, from $25,000 cash to $5,000 percentage. Hartung was charged from an April 24 incident by Tamaqua police with manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to deliver, intent to possess a controlled substance and criminal use of a communications facility.Hartung must live at 256 Brown St., Tamaqua, must avoid drugs and alcohol and places that serve alcohol, and must make all court appearances.Parole revocation:Baldwin revoked the parole of Matthew Edmonds, 25, formerly of Coaldale, and ordered him back to jail. Edmonds was charged with two felony counts of manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance on April 8, 2010 by county detectives.He was sentenced on Feb. 27, 2012 to 72 days to one year in jail, followed by a year of probation. Baldwin on Aug. 5 sentenced Edmonds to an additional year of probation.Sentence amended:Judge James Goodman amended the sentence of Mark Updike, 52, of Lake Hauto, to run consecutive, or after, he serves a sentence in another case.The amended sentence stems from driving under the influence and related charges filed on July 3, 2013 by Rush Township police. Four charges of driving under the influence were dropped on July 22, 2014, as was possession or use of drug paraphernalia, restrictions on alcoholic beverages, failure to keep right, and disregarding traffic lanes. That left acquiring or obtaining possession of a controlled substance, which was changed to use or possession of drug paraphernalia.Updike was charged after an incident at the Turkey Hill Minute Mart on Claremont Avenue in Hometown. He was transported to a Pottsville Hospital for blood tests following the 7:27 a.m. incident. The test results indicated a .176 percent blood alcohol content, more than twice the legal limit of .08.