AUGUSTA — A city man will spend the next year serving the unsuspended portion of a five-year jail sentence for burglarizing the West Gardiner garage of a man who had died recently.

Paul M. Harrington, 44, of Augusta, was sentenced Tuesday during a hearing at the Capital Judicial Center. He had pleaded guilty last month to a burglary and theft that occurred June 15, 2015, in West Gardiner.

Harrington was ordered to serve two years of probation and to pay restitution of $1,650 for the tools and other items stolen during that burglary.

The prosecutor, Tyler LeClair, told Judge Evert Fowle that Harrington had prior burglary convictions and that the sentence had been agreed to at the time the guilty pleas were entered in front of a different judge.

Fowle told Harrington that the sentence was favorable to him.

“The next round of burglaries, if there is one and the state proves it, (the sentence) is likely to be in the five-to-10-year range. I would encourage you to abide by the conditions of probation,” Fowle said.

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Harrington’s attorney, Lisa Whitter, told the judge that the sentencing was delayed until Tuesday because Harrington had to deal with unspecified medical problems.

At a hearing in March 2016 for Harrington’s co-defendant, Darren Ellis, LeClair said a game surveillance camera captured images of the two men breaking into the garage.

Ellis, who was ordered to serve an initial unsuspended six months of a four-year term and placed on probation for two years, also must contribute to the restitution.

The daughter and son-in-law of the late property owners were in court Tuesday to watch the hearing, but they opted not to address the judge.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams


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