AUBURN – A Lewiston man who broke into the home of an elderly couple and threatened to kill them before fleeing with $2,000 worth of jewelry pleaded guilty Wednesday.

Dennis Austin, 36, of 114 Bartlett St., was initially charged with two counts of robbery, one count of burglary and one count of theft in connection with the Aug. 25 invasion. The state agreed to drop the theft charge in exchange for guilty pleas on the others.

Austin entered the pleas Wednesday afternoon in Androscoggin County Superior Court. He will be sentenced in about two weeks.

The state plans to request that he spend five years in prison followed by three years of probation. Austin’s lawyer, Allan Lobozzo, agreed that three years of probation was appropriate but he planned to request a shorter jail sentence.

Police say Austin broke into the Stevens Street home belonging to Rene and Angeline Bosse, with hopes of getting some quick money to finance a trip out of state and buy a Mercedes-Benz.

The Bosses, both 73, returned from a trip to Wal-Mart to find Austin in their home. They reported that Austin aimed a revolver at them and threatened to “blow off their heads” if they didn’t wait in their bedroom.

After several minutes, the couple decided to climb out of their bedroom window, jump 8 feet to the ground and run to a neighbor’s house.

They both survived the fall without injury.

A few days after the incident, after interviewing people who had talked to Austin about his plans to leave the state, police caught up with him at a coffee shop in Brunswick.

A father of two young children, Austin has a criminal history that includes a previous burglary conviction.