AUGUSTA — Breaking into the Circle K store on U.S. Route 202 in Manchester and stealing packs of Old Gold cigarettes and a separate attempt to break into the Pizza Stone across the highway will keep an Albion man behind bars for about six months.

Jeffrey Lee Marshall Jr., 30, pleaded guilty Thursday at the Capital Judicial Center to burglary, theft and criminal mischief charges, all related to the April 16 incident.

Police found Marshall and another suspect not long after burglar alarms sounded about 2:30 a.m. at the Circle K.

A Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office deputy was nearby, trying to determine why an unoccupied, locked car was left in the middle of the road at the intersection of U.S. Route 202 and Pelton Hill Road. The deputy questioned and then arrested the two men who returned to it, Marshall and James M. Derosier, 29, of Waterville. The car apparently had run out of gas. Charges remain pending against Derosier.

Deputy District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh told Judge Eric Walker that surveillance video showed two men burglarizing Circle K and cigarettes were strewn around.

Deputy Toby Pond also found packs of Old Gold cigarettes in the car, Cavanaugh said. Investigators at the time also noted that Marshall was wearing white shorts similar to those worn by one of the suspects seen on video.

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A Pizza Stone employee later discovered that the store’s door had been kicked in that morning.

Walker asked whether Marshall had been cooperative when police questioned him initially, and Marshall’s defense attorney, Brad Grant, said, “I don’t think he admitted to it. At that point in the evening, he was probably under the influence.”

However, Grant said Marshall wanted to take responsibility for the crimes as soon as possible and enter guilty pleas.

Grant also said he thought the state had enough circumstantial evidence in the case to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.

“I’d like to get this past me. I’ve been working for the past 10 years,” Marshall told the judge. “Hopefully, I can get back on track and not slip up again.”

Walker imposed the sentence recommended jointly by the state and the defense: three years in jail, with an initial six months served immediately and the remainder suspended, and two years of probation. Marshall was ordered to pay $770 as restitution for the damage at the two businesses.

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Marshall also pleaded guilty to a charge of operating under the influence from April 11 in Waterville and received a concurrent seven-day sentence. He was also fined $700, and his driver’s license and registration privileges were suspended for three years.

In exchange for the pleas, another charge of criminal mischief and one of violating conditions of release were dismissed.

Several other people were sentenced during separate hearings Thursday, also at the Capital Judicial Center:

• Brent Charles LeClair, 40, of Mount Vernon, two counts of violation of a protective order June 26 and July 3 in Readfield and operating while license suspended or revoked May 5 in Vienna; 364-day jail sentence, all but 30 days suspended, one-year probation, $250 fine.

• Joan M. Legere 58, of Oakland, two counts of operating under the influence March 1, 2015, and Nov. 5, 2014, both in Oakland; 180-day jail sentence, all but two days suspended, one-year administrative release, 300-day license suspension, $1,000 in fines

• Michael G. Madore, 55, of North Vassalboro, operating under the influence March 13 in Winslow; 364-day jail sentence, all but 45 days suspended, one-year probation, $700 fine, three-year license and registration suspension.

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• Michael G. Nelson, 38, of Skowhegan, domestic violence assault June 20, 2015, in Oakland, 170-day jail sentence concurrent to a probation revocation of a Cumberland County case.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @betadams


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