Edward Carhardt Jr. has been accepted into the Somerset County Drug Court Program. When he's sentenced in April, the 45-year-old will be transferred to an inpatient facility and would serve five years of special probation.
Carhardt pleaded guilty Tuesday to a 35-count indictment that included burglaries in Sussex, Warren, Morris, Somerset, Monmouth and Burlington counties between July and September 2011. His criminal record goes back to 1992.
Somerset County prosecutors argued against admitting Carhardt into the program, saying he's a career criminal who isn't drug dependent.
His lawyer, Michael Chazen, tells the Courier News of Bridgewater Carhardt's struggles with addiction are "significant."
