BOWDOIN — Dakota Madore, 23, of Monmouth pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges that he robbed Bowdoin Town Store in 2019.

Madore pleaded guilty to theft and robbery as part of the agreement and will serve three years in state prison, according to Sagadahoc County Assistant District Attorney Michael Dumas.

Madore will simultaneously serve another three-year sentence for probation revocation related to a case in Androscoggin County.

Surveillance video from the Aug. 25, 2019 robbery showed the suspect threatening a store clerk with a knife, according to an affidavit from Sgt. Dale Hamilton of the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office. The store clerk was forced to hand over more than $600 in cash. No one was injured.

The suspect wore a mask and hooded jacket as well as latex gloves, according to the court documents. He fled on foot with the money and ran north on Litchfield Road. A witness saw him run to a silver sedan.

According to the affidavit, Monmouth police reached out to Hamilton two days after the robbery, after being tipped off.

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Madore was arrested following a traffic stop by a state trooper on Aug. 30, 2019. He was initially charged with robbery, a Class A felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. Hamilton stated Madore was on probation for the crime of robbery for a 2017 conviction.

As part of the plea deal, the prosecutor reduced the charge from a class A robbery to a class B robbery “by striking the language alleging that a weapon was used,” said Jonathan Handelman, Madore’s attorney.

“We were able to reach this plea agreement because the state recognized its case had some potential witness issues which made a conviction after trial far from a sure thing,” Handelman said. “The only direct evidence the State had that pointed to Mr. Madore was the testimony of one witness who was not guaranteed to appear or cooperate at trial. So this compromise deal was worked out.”

Handelman said Madore has been at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset since his arrest. He was scheduled to be transported to Maine Correctional Center in Windham either after his plea at West Bath District Court on Wednesday or later this week.

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