PENOBSCOT, Maine — A local teenager who was indicted earlier this month on charges stemming from a break-in at a Penobscot house has pleaded no contest to the crimes.
Elijah McCarthy, 19, entered the no-contest pleas to burglary and criminal mischief charges on Aug. 15in Hancock County Unified Criminal Court.
McCarthy and three other teens — Jordan T. Lord, 19, of Blue Hill and two 17 year-old juveniles — allegedly broke into a house on Gray Ridge Road on two occasions in April. The house was being renovated but was unoccupied at the time of the break-ins, according to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department.
The teens are accused of stealing a case of beer from the house on April 8 and, on April 21, of breaking into and vandalizing the house, causing nearly $2,000 in damage.
According to police reports, the group sprayed a fire extinguisher on a pool table, damaged furniture with a saw, threw paint around on walls, windows and floors, and painted vulgar words and a swastika on a set of sliding glass doors. A sheriff’s deputy found empty Budweiser cans inside the home after the property owner contacted police to report the April 21 break-in.
McCarthy was indicted Aug. 7 on two felony burglary charges, one misdemeanor theft charge and one misdemeanor criminal mischief charge. As part of a plea agreement with the Hancock County district attorney’s office, McCarthy pleaded no contest to one burglary charge and to the criminal mischief charge, both of which stemmed from the April 21 incident, and the others were dismissed.
He received an overall sentence of three years behind bars with all but 30 days suspended on the burglary conviction and a concurrent 30-day sentence for the criminal mischief conviction, according to court documents. Convictions for burglaries and other Class B crimes in Maine each are punishable by up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $20,000.
McCarthy also was ordered to serve two years of supervised probation upon his release and to pay $1,900 in restitution for damage to the house.
Lord, who also was indicted on Aug.7 on similar charges, was arraigned Monday in an Ellsworth courtroom. He entered not-guilty pleas to all the charges filed against him, which include charges stemming from a separate alleged burglary on Jan. 20 in Blue Hill.
