BANGOR, Maine — One of the five people charged in connection with an April 2014 burglary ring involving mostly nighttime break-ins at homes in Veazie, Orrington and Bangor was sentenced Thursday to spend five years behind bars.
William C. Cushman, 23, of Brewer pleaded guilty in November to 32 charges — 15 felony burglaries, three felony thefts, 12 misdemeanor theft charges, burglary of a motor vehicle and felony possession of a firearm by a felon. Under a plea agreement, Bangor District Court Judge John Lucy sentenced Cushman to 10 years behind bars with half of the time suspended.
Lucy sentenced Cushman to concurrent sentences for all of the crimes. Lucy issued his sentence after hearing from an Orrington homeowner who lost an estimated $3,000 in coins stored in an old kerosene can.
“The doors were locked but they got in anyway,” the Orrington man said.
“My wife is still not sleeping well,” he said.
By breaking into homes while people were sleeping, Cushman also took the homeowners’ security, the judge told him.
Short of taking someone’s life, “this is about as serious as it gets,” Lucy said. “Doing that inflicted a level of harm that is hard for people to quantify.”
The multiple break-ins “demonstrate a scheme here is that premeditated and done over and over,” the judge said later.
Cushman, who has a significant criminal history, was arrested April 18 along with Randall J. Cressey, 24, of Hampden, who faces similar charges and has a pending court case, Penobscot County Deputy District Attorney Michael Roberts said during a break in the sentencing hearing.
Three teens from Bangor and Brewer who were also charged with Class B burglary for their roles in the burglary ring have entered deferred disposition deals under which the charges are dismissed after a year if they are not charged with additional crimes, Roberts said.
The burglary ring was broken up by a partnership between the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Brewer, Veazie and Bangor police departments.
Cushman’s attorney, Aaron Fethke of Searsport, asked the court to sentence his client to three years, saying he cooperated with police.
“He basically took them on a tour” of the homes the burglary ring hit, Fethke said.
“The state’s view is Mr. Cushman is getting a break,” Roberts said.
Lucy also sentenced Cushman to three years of probation after he is released from prison with no use or possession of alcohol or drugs, and ordered him to pay $11,078 in restitution.