FARMINGTON — A New York man who was accused of shooting a Jay man in the leg on Oct. 29, 2024, at an apartment on Church Street in Jay pleaded to a lesser charge July 11 at a Franklin County Unified Court.

Christian Meyers, 21, who was scheduled to go to trial the first week of August, pleaded guilty to theft by receiving stolen property and unlawful sexual touching. Charges dismissed in a plea agreement were elevated aggravated assault, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and sexual abuse of a minor.

Justice Nancy Mills sentenced Meyers to five years in prison on the theft charge with all but 250 days suspended, which he already served since he was arrested last year. He had been held in lieu of $25,000 cash bail at the Franklin County Detention Center. He had faced 10 years in prison on the charge.

Meyers also was sentenced to 364 days in jail on the unlawful touching charge to run concurrent with the theft sentence. He was given credit for time served for both convictions. He also is serving three years of probation.

“We believed we had a very good defense to the original charges against Mr. Meyers and the agreement we reached with the State represents a compromise to avoid the risks of trial,” defense attorney Verne Paradie Jr. said in an email on Tuesday. “Mr. Meyers is a young man and the agreement gives him an opportunity to get on the right track without institutionalizing him.”

According to Jay police Chief Joseph Sage’s affidavit for support of probable cause in 2024, the gun used in the case was stolen Sept. 30, 2024, from an unlocked car on Maxwell Road in Wilton.

A 28-year-old man residing in an apartment at 22 Church St. called police on Oct. 29, 2024, to report he was shot in the right side of the groin area, according to the affidavit.

When police arrived the victim said he had gone to the third floor apartment at 25 Church St. to get money — $300 to $400 — owed to him from the man who lived there. The victim said the man, who was later identified as Meyers, pulled a gun and threatened to shoot him. The victim was wrestling for the gun when Meyers pulled the trigger, shooting him in the leg near the groin area, the affidavit said.

The victim was taken by ambulance to a Lewiston hospital for a single gunshot wound.

Attorney Maurice Porter previously said Meyers told him he didn’t know the person who came to his apartment and that the man brought the gun with him.

Officers canvassed the neighborhood and located Meyers in Livermore Falls. He was in the company of a 14-year-old girl from Livermore Falls, who Meyers referred to as his girlfriend. Meyers had given the girl his backpack containing a loaded handgun and she took the items to her home, the affidavit said.

Sage met with the girl and the girl’s father. The girl provided Sage with the backpack and the gun she had hidden in the floorboards of her father’s room. The girl told Sage that Meyers told her the gun was in the backpack and he had shot at someone after pulling the gun on the man, who grabbed the gun and started fighting with him. The girl had parental consent to be with Meyers, the affidavit said.

Hours after his release on July 11, Meyers was arrested on a probation violation. He is being held without bail at the Franklin County Detention Center.

Probation conditions include not to use or possess any illegal drugs firearms, dangerous weapons and is subject to random search and testing for those items. He also must complete an evaluation and counseling and treatment for sexual offender as determined by his probation officer.