AUBURN — An Auburn man has pleaded guilty to participating in a string of robberies in the area.

Scott Demmons pleaded guilty Tuesday to five store and pizza shop robberies last April in the same courtroom in which he called allegations in the case “a lie.”

Prosecutors say he claimed to have a gun in some of the robberies, allegedly committed with an accomplice who is awaiting trial.

The Sun Journal reports that in an agreement reached with the district attorney’s office, the most time the 33-year-old Demmons is expected to serve will be five years of a 10-year sentence. He will be allowed at his sentencing hearing later this month to argue for a shorter prison stint.

Demmons’ attorney says his client never had a gun.