A Carbon County woman entered guilty pleas in four pending drug-related cases on Tuesday afternoon and was immediately sentenced to a state prison term.

Tara Lynn Hertzog, 36, formerly of Nesquehoning, and now an inmate at the state correctional institution at Muncy, Lycoming County, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count each of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of incapacitation device and possession of a small amount of marijuana.

After accepting the pleas, Judge Steven R. Serfass sentenced her to a total of 21 to 60 months in a state prison with eight days credit for time served.

Hertzog was arrested on a PWID count on Sept. 10, 2019, by Lansford police following a vehicle stop. She was a front-seat passenger and was found with a large quantity of illegal substances. She was arrested on the possession of controlled substances counts on Feb. 8, 2020, by state police at Lehighton when troopers responded to Mooney’s Motel for a complaint. They found various drugs in a room Hertzog and another person were staying in at the time.

The second possession occurred on March 27, 2019, filed by Nesquehoning police when officers conducted a traffic stop. Hertzog was a passenger and had an active warrant for her arrest. While taking her into custody, drugs were found along with a small amount of marijuana. The possession of incapacitation device (Taser) occurred on Jan. 8, 2019, filed by Lansford police following an arrest in Palmerton as part of an ongoing drug investigation by the county drug task force, attorney general’s office and Lansford police.

In exchange for the pleas, three felony counts of PWID were dropped by the DA’s office.

Defense attorney Matthew J. Rapa said his client has a long history of drug abuse and all of her arrests are tied to the drug addiction problem.

He said she is currently in the state prison at Muncy due to serious health problems. He said when the health problems developed she was in the county prison on the charges, but transferred to the state system because the county jail was not equipped to handle the health issues.

Serfass also ordered Hertzog to supply a DNA sample, zero tolerance imposed on drug or alcohol use, pay court costs of about $1,000 and pay a fine of $300 on the marijuana charge.

He also made her eligible for the state drug treatment program and/or boot camp program.