A Carbon County woman admitted taking and forging checks belonging to her mother.

She was one of five defendants in pending criminal cases to enter a guilty plea before Judge Joseph J. Matika.Beaver MeadowsKaitlin Rose Helmer,22, of Beaver Meadows, pleaded to one count of forgery, as a felony 2, for an incident on Dec. 12, 2015.State police at Hazleton charged her with taking eight checks belonging to her mother,forging her name and cashing them. The mother became aware of the theft when the bank notified her that her account was overdrawn.Helmer told Matika she used the money to buy heroin to support a drug addiction. She said she went to an inpatient rehabilitation program in Florida to address her problem.Helmer is currently on probation on theft counts occurring in Beaver Meadows and imposed by Matika.Matika placed her on probation for a year, concurrent with her present term, and ordered she get a drug and alcohol evaluation, zero tolerance for drug and alcohol use, supply a DNA sample, render 50 hours of community service and make restitution to her mother for $540.Flees on ATVAustin James Falensky,24, of Hazle Township, Luzerne County, pleaded to one count of fleeing or attempting to elude police, rated a misdemeanor 2. The charge was downgraded from a felony 3 in a plea bargain with the district attorney's office, which also included a charge of escape, a felony 3, and four summary offenses were dropped.Falensky was arrested on Aug. 11, 2016, when Weatherly police spotted him and two other individuals riding all-terrain vehicles on Main Street. Police attempted to stop the three but all sped away. Police cut off its pursuit of Falensky when one of the other ATV operators crashed.Falensky arrived at the scene of the crash and turned himself in to police, admitting he was operating one of the ATVs.Matika placed him on probation for a year and ordered he render 50 hours of community service.Tampering chargeNicholas J. Cantelmi,27, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to one count each of tampering with evidence and scattering rubbish, a summary offense.He was arrested on May 12 by Kidder Township police along Route 534 in the area of Hickory Run State Park, following a vehicle stop. Cantelmi was a passenger in the vehicle and fled on foot as police approached the car. As he ran, police saw him drop a backpack. He was eventually caught. Drugs were found in the backpack. Charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia were dropped in a plea agreement with the district attorney's office.Cantelmi is currently an inmate in the county prison facing a probation violation charge.Matika placed him on probation for a year on the tampering charge and ordered he render 50 hours of community service and get a drug and alcohol evaluation. On the summary offense he was fined $100 and costs.Other pleasNestor Ariel Alvarez, 23, of Slatington, pleaded to one count of default in required appearance.He was arrested by Nesquehoning police on April 17 when prison officials reported he was out on work release and did not return to the prison as required.He claimed he was working in the Philadelphia area and said his ride back to the prison didn't show up. He also admitted never notifying the prison that he would be late.Matika sentenced him to serve one to 12 months in prison concurrent with a prison term he is now serving. He must also render 50 hours of community service when paroled.Lorena Isabela Keglic, 46, of Saylorsburg, pleaded to one count of materially false written statement.She was charged by Kidder Township police for an incident on April 5, 2014, when she filled out an application to purchase a firearm at Eastern Arms & Outfitters and gave false information about her past criminal history.Matika placed her on probation for a year and ordered she render 50 hours of community service.Each defendant sentenced must also pay court costs of about $1,000 and a $50 per month supervision fee while on probation or parole.