AUGUSTA — An Augusta man was sentenced to 27 years in prison after pleading guilty to murdering another Augusta man.

Andrew Redmond, 36, previously pleaded not guilty to murdering Tyler Robinson, 34, in 2023 after a plan to scare him went wrong.

On Wednesday at the Capital Judicial Center Redmond changed his plea to guilty to murder.

In a plea agreement, he was sentenced to 27 years in prison.

“We’re quite proud of our client, Andrew, despite a very good case, we could have tried that case, he had a lot of potential defenses, but to his credit he stepped up and decided to make an example for himself, and for his family,” Redmond’s lawyer, Stephen Smith, said after his guilty plea. “We’re really quite optimistic he’ll have a future. It’s hard to say somebody’s happy with 27 years, but given the 25-year-minimum and the usual sentences handed out, we’re pretty pleased with that.”

Prosecutor Bud Ellis, an assistant attorney general, acknowledged the 27-year sentence is “on the lower end compared to a lot of other cases” and said making the case against Redmond faced challenges, including witnesses who were using drugs at the time of the incident and have had their own run-ins with the legal system.

“After lengthy discussions, like a lot of cases there were some difficulties along the way, which both sides were aware of,” Ellis said outside the courthouse. “We were finally able to settle on the recommended sentence, after much discussion back and forth, to secure conviction and hold Mr. Redmond accountable. In the long run we wanted to secure the conviction and this was the sentence we were able to agree on.”

No members of Robinson’s family attended Wednesday’s plea and sentencing. Ellis said the only family member prosecutors have had contact with was Robinson’s sister. He said he didn’t want to speak for her but said some discontent had been expressed by her about various aspects of the case. Ellis said the sister was informed of Wednesday’s proceedings but did not attend.

Four people were in court to support Redmond, though none spoke. Redmond said goodbye to them after he was lead out of the courtroom, in a green jail uniform and with his hands shackled at his waist.

Redmond, through Smith, declined to speak in court.

Redmond, who was arrested by police while on the lam in Mississippi, was indicted in October on allegations he shot and killed Robinson on July 28, 2023.

Robinson was found near 42 Old Belgrade Road in Augusta the night of July 28 after a passing driver called 911 to report having seen a man on the side of the road. Robinson reportedly had blood covering his face and head.

The Office of Chief Medical Examiner performed an autopsy on Robinson and deemed his death a homicide. The state’s chief medical examiner discovered a gunshot wound to Robinson’s chest.

Witnesses told police that Redmond and others planned to scare and beat up Robinson when he arrived at 8 Shovelhead Lane, a short, dead-end road off Old Belgrade Road, Ellis said.

The shooting took place near where Redmond was living in a tent by a home and allegedly selling drugs, according to an affidavit and criminal complaint filed by Detective Nicholas Gleeson of the Maine State Police.

Robinson’s girlfriend told police she drove Robinson and another man to 8 Shovelhead Lane that night, and she was forced out of her Jeep at gunpoint by Redmond, who told her to go inside the residence.

Ellis said Robinson fled on foot. Two other men chased after him — one shooting toward him, but not hitting him — with a shotgun loaded with nonlethal rubber bullets, officials said.

Redmond then caught up to Robinson on his ATV. A witness said Redmond passed him on the ATV and stopped near Robinson. The witness said he then heard a gunshot.

The witness told police that due to the poor lighting, he did not see Redmond shoot Robinson, but heard the gunshot from near the ATV. The witness said that when Redmond returned on his ATV, he told the witness, “I shot him.”

Robinson’s girlfriend told police she remained at the residence after the shooting, and Redmond apologized to her several times, saying “he was sorry, it wasn’t supposed to go down like that.”

Parts of the incident, but not the shooting itself, were caught on security cameras at a neighborhood residence.

Redmond’s criminal record, according to the State Bureau of Identification, includes only misdemeanor-level charges: two counts of operating under the influence, in 2010 and 2019; refusing to submit to arrest or detention and criminal mischief in 2010; two counts of violating conditions of release, in 2019 and 2010; theft by unauthorized taking in 2011; and assault in 2008.

Superior Court Justice Daniel Mitchell said he reviewed the sentence and believed it to be reasonable.