A Luzerne County woman pleaded guilty in Carbon County court on Tuesday, admitting her part in a series of thefts at the Walmart store in Mahoning Township.

Hollie Lynn Carsia, 28, of Hazleton, entered pleas in five pending cases. She pleaded to four counts of retail theft and one of defiant trespass before Judge Joseph J. Matika.Carsia admitted taking televisions, dog food and makeup items on two occasions in April and two more occasions in August. The trespass charge stems from an Aug. 23 incident when she was spotted in the store after previously being told she was not allowed to enter the store. That condition was placed on her after she was charged with the theft counts.Carsia was involved in the thefts with her then boyfriend, George A. Kraynak, 23, of Hazleton. Earlier this year Kraynak pleaded guilty to his part in the thefts and was placed on probation for six years. Carsia, like Kraynak, also faced criminal charges in Schuylkill and Luzerne counties for theft incidents.Carsia told Matika she was a special-education teacher in the Hazleton Area School District when she met Kraynak. She said he led her into heroin addiction.Defense Attorney Bruce Miller told Matika, "When you are in the control of addiction you lose all sense of control."Carsia said she lost her teaching position. She said, "I fell in love and it led me to drug addiction and ruined my life." She added that she spent 47 days in an inpatient rehabilitation program in Florida, but then relapsed and committed more thefts.Matika said, "You are evidence that heroin does not discriminate. You spent a lot of money on your education and lost it all." He added, "These are the choices you made."She was recently placed on probation in Schuylkill County for 23 months for thefts at the Walmart store in Rush Township.Matika placed her on probation for two years, consecutive with Schuylkill, and ordered her to render 100 hours of community service, get a drug and alcohol evaluation and follow any recommendations for treatment, zero tolerance imposed on D&A use, pay court costs of about $1,000, pay a $50 per month supervision fee while on probation, and make total restitution to Walmart for $1,026.63, which is one-half her share.