A Blair County man pleaded guilty in Carbon County court on Thursday in two pending criminal cases before Judge Steven R. Serfass.

He was one of seven defendants in pending criminal cases to enter a guilty plea.

Bad check

Marc Joseph Digilio

, 32, of Altoona, pleaded guilty to one count each of theft by receiving stolen property, criminal trespass and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He was arrested for issuing a bad check to Supreme Wireless of Lehighton, on Jan. 16, 2016, for $1,525, which led to the receiving plea. The drug count stems from an incident on July 8, 2014, at the county prison in Nesquehoning. Corrections officers found heroin hidden in his cellphone. Nesquehoning police filed the charges.

He previously entered a guilty plea to charges of criminal trespass and theft. In that case he was charged by Nesquehoning police for an incident on March 12, 2014, when a home in the borough was entered and electronic devices and jewelry were removed. He admitted selling the items at a pawnshop.

Digilio is currently an inmate in the Blair County prison facing other charges.

Serfass sentenced him to time-served, 170 days, to one day less 24 months in prison and ordered he supply a DNA sample, render a total of 100 hours of community service, make total restitution $5,329.48 and zero tolerance for drug or alcohol use.

Other pleas

Quinn Hydro

, 45, of Lehighton, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and one each of possession of a controlled substance and theft by receiving stolen property.

The drug counts stem from an incident on July 27, 2017, along South East Alley and Alum streets and Oct. 24, 2017, along North Second Street, both in Lehighton. The theft count stems from a June 14, 2017, incident in Lehighton when he took a pottery crock from a porch of a borough resident.

Hydro said he went through a bad period of his life in 2017 involving drug use but had not been in trouble since his arrest.

He told Serfass, “I made bad decisions. I chose the wrong friends.”

Serfass placed him on probation for a year on each count, with two running consecutively, and ordered him to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and render a total of 150 hours of community service.

Michael Frank Gerber Jr.

, 36, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to one count of theft by receiving stolen property with a felony charge of burglary dropped in a plea bargain with the district attorney’s office.

Gerber was charged by Jim Thorpe police for an incident on June 19, 2018, at a residence along West 13th Street. Rolls of quarters valued at $150 were taken.

Serfass placed him on probation for a year and ordered he render 50 hours of community service and repay the $150.

Terry Billman

, 44, of Jim Thorpe, pleaded to one count of persistent disorderly conduct. In exchange for the plea a charge of simple assault was dropped.

He was charged by state police at Lehighton for an incident on Feb. 21 at a residence along Blackberry Lane in Penn Forest Township with his wife the victim.

Serfass sentenced him to time-served, 79 days, to six months in prison and ordered he render 25 hours of community service.

Trevor Michael Wentz

, 36, of Weissport, pleaded to one count of theft. He was charged by Weissport police with stealing a push lawn mower of a borough resident on May 26, 2018. He originally told the victim he was going to repair the mower but never returned it.

Wentz is currently serving a three to 12 month prison term on a criminal trespass charge.

Serfass sentenced him to serve three to 12 months in prison, concurrent with the trespass charge, and ordered he make restitution of $75 and render 75 hours of community service. Serfass said he would consider furloughing Wentz from the county prison to enter an inpatient drug and alcohol program run by the Salvation Army.

Isaiah McCoy

, 39, of Freeland, pleaded to one count of false identification to law enforcement. He was arrested on June 5 by Weatherly police following a traffic stop along Main Street. He gave a false name to police.

Serfass sentenced him to time-served, 23 days, to six months in jail and ordered he render 25 hours of community service.

Matthew Garry Wentz

, 39, of Parryville, pleaded to one count of fail to verify address/be photographed. He was arrested on Feb. 24, 2018, by state police at Lehighton in the 9100 block of Interchange Road (Route 209) in Towamensing Township. He failed to register as a sex offender under the provisions of Megan’s Law.

Sentencing was deferred.

Tyler Allen Kistler

, 31, of Lehighton, pleaded to one count of obstruction of administration of law/other government function. In exchange for the plea, felony counts of burglary and criminal trespass were dropped.

He was charged by Lehighton police for an incident along North Second Street.

Serfass sentenced him to time-served, 20 days, to one day less 24 months in prison and ordered he render 100 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.