AUBURN — A local man is expected to serve a total of three years in prison for two crimes about a year apart, including a home invasion in Poland.

A judge on Tuesday sentenced Corey Brume, 22, of 164 Pleasant St., to 10 years in prison, but suspended eight years of that sentence stemming from an incident in Poland on Aug. 24, 2013. Brume and two other men entered a mobile home that night and assaulted a 71-year-old man in a wheelchair, breaking his hip. The trio robbed the man of at least $25,000, stole prescription drugs and a handgun, according to Androscoggin County District Attorney Andrew Robinson.

A detective with the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office found the victim’s clothes and medication outside of the home of one of the three men, Robinson said. One of them told authorities that he went into the victim’s home with Brume and the other co-defendant. They took money and drugs. When the victim awoke, he was assaulted by Brume and another co-defendant, Robinson said.

Brume pleaded guilty to theft of a firearm, aggravated assault and burglary, all Class B felonies, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to violation of condition of release, a misdemeanor.

He was sentenced to 10 years, with all of that time suspended except for two years, plus three years of probation and $500 in restitution to the victim.

When he’s released from prison, he will be prohibited from having alcohol or illegal drugs and dangerous weapons and can be searched at random for them. He must undergo mental health and substance abuse counseling. He can have no contact with the victim nor his co-defendants in that case.

“I don’t know that you get much more serious of a burglary or an intrusion,” Robinson said. “And I think when people look to the criminal justice system, the place where we want to be the safest is our own home. The time that we want to be the safest is when we’re sleeping. We close our eyes and we trust that we’re going to be OK until morning.”

Robinson had argued that Brume serve four years, the cap agreed to by both sides during Brume’s plea.

Brume’s attorney, Adam Sherman, argued that his client be sentenced to serve the time he has already spent in jail.

Sherman said Brume had been a follower in the crimes committed last year, not a leader. The victim, Sherman said, had been a drug dealer.

Brume has a history of severe drug abuse starting at age 11, and has worked recently at getting and staying drug-free, Sherman said. He has held down jobs to try to provide for his 2-year-old daughter and is expecting a son soon.

His father was an alcoholic and was drug addicted. Brume suffered verbal, emotional and physical abuse at the hands of his step-father, who also was an alcoholic and drug addict, Sherman said. Brume was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, for which he was prescribed Ritalin when he was 5 years old. He also has been diagnosed with anxiety disorder for which he was prescribed Zoloft. He reads at a first-grade level.

Police recovered $25,000 and returned it to the victim, Sherman said.

Brume had planned to move away from the Twin Cities and the bad influences on him here, Sherman said. Although Brume has been in jail for roughly 10 months, he has never been in prison.

“Corey has a good heart,” Sherman said. “I worry about who he will be when he gets out of prison.”

Brume apologized Tuesday to his victim and his family. He said he is working on bettering himself by facing his addiction and the consequences of his criminal activity.

Justice MaryGay Kennedy also sentenced Brume to one year in prison on a charge of aggravated criminal trespass in connection with a 2012 incident in which Brume and others forced their way into a Lewiston apartment building and assaulted a man. He was sentenced to 30 days for an assault from the same incident, to be served at the same time as his yearlong sentence, plus a $300 fine.

Brume had been on probation from that crime when he was arrested on the new charges less than a year later. A judge had allowed him to plead to a lesser crime had he stayed clear of criminal activity for two years.

“You had that chance,” Kennedy said. “A deferred disposition is a great tool because it gives you an opportunity to press the reset button and start a new life over. Most unfortunately, you decided that a better course of action was to continue to hang out with a bad crowd. To continue to be involved with substances. And it is a decision.”

Brume had a choice, she said, despite the pull of his addiction.

“Mr. Brume, it gives me no pleasure to sentence you,” she said after handing down penalties for all of his criminal activity over the two-year period starting in 2012. “But I think it’s fair and appropriate.”

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