A Montgomery County man admitted Feb. 2 in Schuylkill County Court that he stole more than $1,000 worth of merchandise in January 2011 from Wal-Mart Supercenter in Saint Clair.
John R. Curtis, 35, of Lansdale, pleaded guilty to retail theft, conspiracy and receiving stolen property and was sentenced by Judge John E. Domalakes to serve six to 12 months in prison, pay costs and $1,298.96 restitution, and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities.
Domalakes made the sentence concurrent with one from Berks County that Curtis presently is serving at State Correctional Institution/Camp Hill.
"It's not a victimless crime," Domalakes told Curtis. "Why, then, do you keep doing it? Stealing anything is wrong."
Curtis said he has been fighting a heroin habit but is trying to rehabilitate himself.
"I want to get better," he said.
Saint Clair police charged Curtis with stealing video games and hardware Jan. 4, 2011.
Also on Thursday, Anthony J. Gasbarra, 20, of Cressona, pleaded guilty to retail theft.
Domalakes placed Gasbarra on probation for 12 months and also sentenced him to pay costs and $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account.
Orwigsburg police charged Gasbarra with stealing a can of cheese valued at $3.47 from Boyer's grocery store April 23, 2011, in the borough.
"Fulfill your requirements. Get this behind you. Move on with your life," Domalakes urged Gasbarra after imposing the sentence on him.
In other recent county court action, a Pottsville man returned to prison after a judge revoked his parole.
Rudy G. Rudloff, 34, cannot apply for reparole until Sept. 12, and must undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation, Senior Judge D. Michael Stine ruled.
Rudloff originally pleaded guilty Aug. 14, 2008, to driving under the influence, driving under suspension-DUI related, driving without a license, failure to keep right, disregarding traffic lane and careless driving. Stine sentenced Rudloff to serve one to five years in prison and pay costs, $3,775 in fines, $300 to the Substance Abuse Education Fund and $60 restitution to Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street.
New Castle Township police charged Rudloff with DUI on April 14, 2007, in the township.
A Minersville man is headed to prison after being sentenced Feb. 3 in county court for driving under the influence twice in the same day.
John R. Templeton, 29, must serve five days to 12 months in prison under the terms of Judge Jacqueline L. Russell's sentence.
"I don't have any complaint" about the sentence, Templeton said.
Russell also sentenced Templeton to pay costs, $1,500 in fines, $400 in payments to the Substance Abuse Education Fund, $100 in payments to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account and $120 restitution to Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street, and perform 40 hours community service. Russell made the sentence effective at noon Friday.
Templeton pleaded guilty Jan. 19, 2011, to two charges of DUI. At that time, Russell placed Templeton in the intermediate punishment program, but she removed him from that program on Friday before sentencing him.
Pottsville police had filed both charges against Templeton, alleging he was DUI twice on April 12, 2010, in the city.
Also in the county court, Judge John E. Domalakes accepted pleas Feb. 2 from four defendants. In each case, Domalakes ordered a presentence investigation and scheduled sentencing for March 26.
Those defendants, and the charges against them, included:
Robert Haviland, 53, of Pottsville; delivery of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and DUI. Prosecutors dropped a careless driving charge.
Pottsville police alleged Haviland was DUI on Jan. 13, 2011, and delivered drugs on Jan. 28, 2011, with each incident occurring in the city.
Allen R. Howell Jr., 37, of Cressona; two counts of unlawful possession of firearms and one each of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Prosecutors dropped a harassment charge.
State police at Schuylkill Haven charged Howell with possessing firearms April 4, 2011, while Pottsville police alleged he was disorderly May 24, 2011, in the city.
Patricia A. Krammes-Eiler, 49, of Schuylkill Haven; two counts each of corruption of minors and selling or furnishing liquor to minors.
Schuylkill Haven borough police charged Krammes-Eiler with committing those crimes May 5, 2011, in the borough.
Samuel Sanabria, 36, of Shenandoah; carrying a firearm without a license, recklessly endangering another person and propulsion of missiles.
Shenandoah police charged Sanabria with committing those crimes April 8, 2011.
Haviland, Howell and Sanabria entered guilty pleas, while Krammes-Eiler entered a no contest plea, which means she did not admit committing the crimes but offered no defense to them, admitted prosecutors had sufficient evidence against her to prove her guilty and agreed to be sentenced as if she had pleaded or been found guilty.
In other county court action, two Barnesville men had reason to celebrate Monday, as juries found them not guilty of criminal charges in separate one-day trials.
Ryan J. Grutza, 36, thanked the jurors who acquitted him of charges of simple assault and disorderly conduct. The jury of eight men and four women deliberated about 20 minutes before reaching its verdict.
Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin, who presided over the trial, found Grutza not guilty of harassment.
Frackville borough police had charged Grutza with punching Jared Welikonich, Frackville, on Nov. 25, 2010, during a fight near Roman's Lounge & Catering, 101 S. Broad Mountain Ave.
However, in his statement to police, Welikonich did not mention Grutza, saying only that he had been sucker-punched by several men from out of town.
Furthermore, a video of the incident showed Welikonich entering a crowd, and Frederick J. Fanelli, Pottsville, Grutza's lawyer, used that to attack his credibility.
"What are you looking for going into that crowd?" Fanelli asked Welikonich.
"Not sure," Welikonich answered.
"Were you looking for trouble?"
"Possibly."
Philip Rapant, Girardville, said he saw Grutza punch Welikonich a couple times, and that he had to pull the defendant off the Frackville man. Assistant District Attorney Michael A. O'Pake argued to the jury that that alone was enough to convict Grutza.
"His identification of Ryan was never in doubt," O'Pake said in his closing argument.
However, the jury accepted Fanelli's argument that Welikonich was at fault and Grutza did nothing.
"The beer muscles popped out. He gets in a fight. He's a big kid," Fanelli said of Welikonich. "He's jawing and jawing and jawing. It's obvious what happened."
In the other case, a jury of seven men and five women deliberated less than an hour before finding David A. Merenda, 52, not guilty of driving under the influence.
Judge John E. Domalakes, who presided over the trial, found Merenda not guilty of failure to keep right.
Rush Township police had alleged Merenda was DUI about 12:35 a.m. April 8, 2011, in a Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle on Fairview Street, Ginther.
"I observed the vehicle in front of me crossing the double yellow line three or four times," testified Jonathan M. McHugh, a former Rush Township policeman now with the Mahanoy City police. "He had slurred speech ... an odor of alcoholic beverage. He had glassy, bloodshot eyes. He told me ... he had a six-pack at his brother's house."
However, Andrew B. Zelonis, Barnesville, Merenda's lawyer, said in his closing argument that McHugh had not originally mentioned several factors in his report and the department's failure to produce records of the incident cast doubt on the contention that Merenda refused to take a Breathalyzer test to measure his blood-alcohol level.
"My client was not incapable of safe driving," Zelonis said.
Assistant District Attorney James E. Crossen III unsuccessfully argued that Merenda refused to follow the instructions for the Breathalyzer test and refused to go to a hospital for a blood test.
Also in the county court, prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against three defendants.
Diane M. Doncheski, 52, of Pottsville, had been charged with theft. Pottsville police alleged she committed the theft Aug. 18, 2011, in the city.
Ryan S. Gernert, 31, of Cressona, had been charged with four counts of disorderly conduct and one each of endangering the welfare of children and harassment. Schuylkill Haven borough police had charged him with committing those crimes Feb. 8, 2011, in the borough.
Paul W. Warfel, 47, of Oklahoma City, Okla., had been charged with disorderly conduct and defiant trespass. Pottsville police alleged he trespassed and acted disorderly July 19, 2011, in the city.
In each case, President Judge William E. Baldwin signed an order Thursday allowing prosecutors to drop the case and ordering the defendant to pay the court costs.