AUBURN – Three men, two of whom robbed a local McDonald’s restaurant last summer while masked and brandishing baseball bats, were sent to prison Friday.

The third man worked at the fast food restaurant on Center Street and left the door unlocked for the other two.

All pleaded guilty to robbery, a class A felony, punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Kristofer Dahlquist, 24, of Scarborough was sentenced to 10 years, with all but five suspended.

Daniel Duhamel 24, of Mechanic Falls was sentenced to eight years in prison with all but four suspended.

Both men wore masks and wielded baseball bats during the robbery.

Andrew Gage, 19, of Lewiston was sentenced to six years in prison with all but three suspended. Gage had worked at the restaurant for a year-and-a-half and purposely left a door unlocked after hours.

All three men also were given four years’ probation. Gage was the only defendant whose guilty plea was offered without a sentencing recommendation by the District Attorney’s Office. The sentences imposed on Duhamel and Dahlquist mirrored what the prosecutor had recommended.

A fourth person, a woman who called in a bogus bomb scare at a local hotel to divert police attention, was already sentenced.

Amy Folsom, who is Gage’s sister and Duhamel’s girlfriend, was given an 18-month sentence, with all but 21 days suspended, followed by 18 months’ probation.

Police said Dahlquist and Duhamel entered the restaurant shortly before 2:30 a.m. June 23. Dahlquist forced workers into a back room while Duhamel made the manager open the safe. No one was injured, assistant district Attorney said Friday during one of the sentencings.

Duhamel and Dahlquist fled with more than $10,000 cash.

They later divided the money. Duhamel said he kept about $3,500; Dahlquist, $4,000. Gage, who was the first one arrested, got nothing.

Gage said Duhamel hatched the scheme and pumped the restaurant worker for information about his business while he was getting drunk. Duhamel needed drug money; Gage’s sister needed rent money.

“I just figured it was a quick buck, why not?” Gage said.

Dahlquist, who police said stole the baseball bats from a Portland sports shop, said he was “really very scared” before entering the restaurant, but was high on drugs and urged on by Duhamel.

He said he spent his share of the stolen money on drugs and hotels and “living the high life.”

Duhamel said he spent his share on drugs.

All three men were ordered to repay the $10,695; $2,500 to the restaurant owner for his deductible and the remainder to his insurance company.

Gage was arrested less than a week after the robbery. Duhamel turned himself in later, after consulting with an attorney. Dahlquist was the last of the trio to be arrested. He was found hiding at a hotel in Kittery.

Duhamel’s attorney and family said his history of attention deficit disorder and drug problem contributed to his bad decisions.

Family members also testified for the other defendants, stressing they made good candidates for rehabilitation.

Justice Thomas Delahanty II agreed, noting the three were brighter and of higher caliber than many of the people over whose cases he presides.

He reminded them that the felony charge is one of the more serious in state criminal law, second only to murder.

“It was deliberate. It was intentional. You knew people would be inside,” he said.

All three defendants apologized for their actions before they were sentenced.