SKOWHEGAN — A Fairfield woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges from a 2021 home burglary and theft after she repeatedly missed several scheduled court proceedings, including a trial before a judge scheduled earlier this month.

In a Skowhegan courtroom, Rebecca O’Clair, 41, pleaded guilty to one Class B count of burglary, one Class C count of theft, one Class C count of receiving stolen property and one Class D count of criminal mischief. She also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of operating without a license and violation of condition of release in a separate case.

Per an agreement with the defense, the state recommended a sentence of five years in prison, with all but nine months and one day suspended, and three years of probation, according to First Assistant District Attorney Timothy Snyder, a prosecutor in the Somerset County district attorney’s office.

District Court Judge Andrew Benson accepted the guilty plea but modified the sentence, citing “very, very significant victim impact.”

He sentenced O’Clair to six years in prison, rather than five, with all but nine months and one day suspended and three years of probation. O’Clair also was ordered to pay $7,201.28 in restitution, as well as several hundred dollars in fines and court fees.

O’Clair was arrested by Fairfield police in September 2021 after an investigation into a burglary and theft at an Ohio Hill Road residence. The residents reported several items missing, including tools, a laptop and jewelry, including a wedding ring, Snyder told the court. They also found damage to their vehicles, such as the removal of catalytic converters.

The day after the crime was reported, a Fairfield police sergeant returned to the property and found O’Clair, who lived next door to the burglarized residence, in the woods moving some of the reported stolen items to her property, Snyder said.

O’Clair later admitted to her actions, and police executed a search warrant at her home that turned up some of the stolen items, Snyder said.

O’Clair has since failed to appear at several scheduled court proceedings, Snyder said. Earlier this month, she missed a bench trial, he said. A bench trial is held before a judge rather than a jury.

One of the residents of the Ohio Hill Road home, told Benson that he has been to court an estimated 15 times in the last few years as the case has moved along. O’Clair has “no respect for the law or the process,” he said.

Appearing Tuesday in the Skowhegan District Courthouse, wearing blue Somerset County Jail clothing, O’Clair spoke softly as she answered a standard checklist of questions required of defendants who enter a guilty plea.

At one point, when Benson asked O’Clair if she has reviewed investigators’ reports and if she believes the state has evidence in the case, O’Clair became emotional and did not answer the questions. The court recessed, taking up another, unrelated matter, and O’Clair left the courtroom with her attorney.

When she returned, she answered the rest of Benson’s questions.

Another resident of the Ohio Hill Road told Benson that O’Clair essentially spent the whole day inside her home of 50 years and asked him to impose a more severe sentence.

“I never felt so scared in my whole life,” said the resident, who added that she and her husband had to change locks and upgrade security on the property.

Benson, however, agreed with O’Clair’s attorney, Ian L’Heureux of the Augusta law firm Steve Smith Trial Lawyers, that the nine-month-and-a-day prison sentence represents a significant step up in punishment for O’Clair. Her criminal record largely includes minor offenses.

L’Heureux also asked Benson to let O’Clair walk free for a few hours to visit her ailing father before reporting to the county jail later that afternoon.

Benson rejected the request, citing O’Clair’s repeated failure to appear in court.