A Coaldale man, who previously pleaded guilty in five pending cases, was placed in a special state program on Tuesday by a Carbon County judge.

Kerry L. Freedman, 42, was placed in the state's intermediate punishment program by Judge Steven R. Serfass on four counts of driving under the influence and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.The program runs for two years, during which Freedman will spent about seven months in prison, a period of months in an intensive drug and alcohol program and then a period of time in a halfway house.Serfass warned Freedman if he does not complete the program, or is terminated from it, he would be brought back to Carbon and be resentenced on all the charges.Freedman was arrested on the DUI charges as follows: July 28, 2015, by Coaldale police along Route 209 at Fifth Street (case transferred to Carbon); Oct. 3, 2015, by Lehighton police along Coal Street; March 5, 2016, by state police at Lehighton along First Street in Lehighton; and Feb. 19 by Lehighton police along East Street. In the first three cases, a test revealed the presence of a controlled substance. In the last case, Freedman refused a blood test.The possession count occurred on Sept. 17, 2016, at the Blue Mountain Health System's Lehighton Campus.Freedman thanked the court for the opportunity to enter the program.He told Serfass he got addicted to drugs and his life when downhill from there. He said he was embarrassed by his arrests and what happened. He said, "Opiates took over my life." He said he started with pills and graduated to heroin. He added, "I thought I could beat this myself."Serfass ordered him to pay a total of $5,500 in fines on the DUI charges, license suspensions of at least five years and pay court costs of about $1,000.Serfass said any credit Freedman is entitled to on the charges will be determined by the state department of corrections.