FARMINGTON — Three men responsible for a Halloween crime spree and kidnapping will not be sentenced until late September to give attorneys for the defense more time to gather information relevant to the case.

Kevin Crandall, 28, of Wilton; Michael Kidd Jr., 21, of New Vineyard; and Marcus Thompson, 26, of Farmington, pleaded guilty to kidnapping, robbery, and related charges in Franklin County Superior Court, and originally were scheduled to be sentenced in June.

The move to late September is the second time the date has been pushed back at the request of the defense.

Kidd’s attorney, Christopher Dilworth, said that the case’s complexity has made it difficult to evaluate whether other cases from around the state are relevant as precedents. Members of the defense team are visiting courts in Bangor, Alfred and Portland to review individual cases to see whether the underlying facts in the cases were the same as in this one.

“It’s really labor-intensive to get access to the literally dozens of files all over the state,” he said.

Dilworth said that he should be ready by September 28.

“That gives us about seven additional weeks,” he said. “That should be enough time.”

On Halloween night, Crandall, Kidd and Thompson forced their way into a Seamons Road home, wearing black ski masks. The married couple that lived there opened the door, thinking that it was a trio of trick-or-treaters.

After ransacking the home, Crandall held the wife hostage while Kidd and Thompson forced the husband to drive to an automated teller machine and withdraw $700.

On the same day, before the incident, Kidd burglarized three other homes in the area.

Each of the defendants will be given a choice between two sentencing options under a plea agreement. Under the first option, each man would receive 15 years in prison, followed by 4 years of probation. Violating probation would result in an additional 10 years in prison.

In the second option, prison time is capped at 20 years, and reductions in the sentence are possible, at the discretion of the judge.

Dilworth has said the results of the defense team’s research will influence the defendants’ decision. If precedents demonstrate that a longer sentence is called for, the first option of 15 years will be more appealing. If a shorter sentence seems possible, they are more likely to choose the second option, which gives the judge the flexibility to reduce the sentence.

Had they been convicted without a plea deal, they would have faced up to 60 years in prison for the kidnapping charges alone