Woman gets probation in Sparta accidents

Jennifer Sugarman, 36, of Lincoln Park was sentenced on Jan. 26 to three years of probation in connection with collisions with two vehicles, including a police car, in Sparta.

She also must complete 100 hours of community service work.

Sugarman previously was sentenced on related charges of driving while intoxicated and refusal to submit. She was ordered to lose her driver’s license for seven months, to do 12 hours at an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center, and to play minimum mandatory fines and fees.

On Nov. 9, she pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault by auto. She admitted driving under the influence of alcohol which led to an accident with another driver.

She was accused of hitting two cars, sending one person to the hospital, on Nov. 21, 2021.

Sparta police said she crashed into the back of a Jeep Cherokee that was stopped for the traffic light, then she backed into a police car that pulled up behind her car. The driver of the Cherokee complained of neck pain and was taken by ambulance to Newton Medical Center.

Time served for theft

Manuel Cartagena-Araya, 38, of Chile, was sentenced on Jan. 25 to time served. He had served 114 days in jail.

On Nov. 3, Cartagena-Araya pleaded guilty to fourth-degree theft. He admitted taking property valued between $200 and $500, including a wallet and its contents belonging to a customer shopping at Wal-Mart in Hampton Township, on Jan. 12, 2021.