A Cumberland County Circuit Court session on a crowded docket accepted a string of guilty pleas and set sentencing or review dates for a number of defendants, with several matters tied to probation and specialty‑court participation.

Presiding Judge (unnamed) accepted plea agreements that included probation and restitution conditions. In 25CR0066, the court accepted a guilty plea for theft by unlawful taking over $10,000 and, under the parties’ recommendation, imposed a sentence structure that will run to a total of 10 years with 5 years probated while ordering restitution of $16,000. A separate related count (25CR0051) was reduced and ordered to run concurrently; total monthly restitution payments were set at $300. The judge also directed that the defendant enter and complete the Cumberland County Specialty Court and placed the case back on the docket for review in December 2026 to reassess restitution ability.

Other defendants who entered pleas included Matthew Day (25CR0069), who pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance, first degree, with the Commonwealth recommending a three‑year sentence probated for five years and supervised probation; sentencing was scheduled for January 22 following a presentence investigation. Several other defendants — including Carolina Hardison (24CR0080) and Bernice Stearns (25CR0068) — agreed to pleas that included supervised probation, enrollment in treatment or specialty‑court programs, fines or consecutive probationary terms tied to earlier convictions.

The court regularly reminded defendants of constitutional rights before accepting pleas, confirmed that waivers were voluntary, and set negotiation and next‑court appearance dates (commonly January 16 for negotiation and January 22 for sentencing or further proceedings). In arraignment matters the court also appointed counsel where requested and emphasized counsel should confer with clients ahead of negotiation dates.

The judge addressed compliance issues and probation supervision on the record in review hearings. For one defendant on shock probation the court ordered counsel to confirm employment‑related compliance with the Commonwealth by the next week. Counsel also sought and received approval for subpoenas for out‑of‑state witnesses in pending criminal matters.

Several motions to vacate pleas were presented and ruled on; one such motion (by Austin White) was denied and the court advised the defendant of appellate rights.

The docket contained a mix of straightforward arraignments, plea‑acceptances that tie defendants into supervised treatment or specialty‑court tracks, and routine scheduling for future negotiation and sentencing dates. The court cleared the criminal docket to proceed to confidential matters and the grand jury call.