A Carbon County man was sentenced to a county prison term on Thursday after pleading guilty to a charge of authorized use of a motor vehicle.

Stephen Richard Lassell Jr., 32, of Lehighton, was sentenced by Judge Joseph J. Matika to serve 9 to 23 months in prison on the charge.

Lassell, however, could have face more time but the commonwealth agreed to drop felony counts of theft and receiving stolen property.

State police at Lehighton charged Lassell for an incident on March 27, 2020, involving the theft of a 2012 Nissan Frontier.

Matika noted that Lassell’s long prior record score was the reason he faced such a long prison term. “Your past came back and bite you,” Matika told the defendant.

Since his arrest, Lassell said he entered a rehabilitation program for 40 days and is working steadily and has a family. He said he had a “lot of trouble when I was younger.”

In addition to the prison term, Lassell was ordered to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and follow any recommendation for treatment, supply a DNA sample, render 50 hours of community service, pay court costs of over $1,000 and pay a $50 per month supervision fee while on parole.

He was given credit for 44 days on the charge and will begin serving the sentence at 9 a.m. on May 27. He was granted immediate work-release privileges.