PARIS — A 44-year-old man accused of twice burglarizing a vacant Fryeburg home in October entered a guilty plea Thursday to some of the charges against him.

David R. Duquette of 80 Huntress Ave. in South Portland pleaded guilty to burglary, theft and criminal mischief. The plea dismissed an additional two counts of theft as well as one count each of burglary and criminal mischief.

According to Assistant District Attorney Joseph O’Connor, Linda Russell of Stanley Hill Road first noticed that a 19th-century farmhouse they owned had been entered and ransacked on Oct. 8. O’Connor said the house was the childhood home of Russell’s husband, Elbridge, and that his mother had lived there until her death in 2007.

O’Connor said Elbridge noticed a pickup truck parked nearby on Oct. 8, and again a week later. Elbridge called the police after noticing that the residence had been entered, and held Duquette at gunpoint after he jumped out of a second-story window. Police found items from the residence in Duquette’s backpack, including a gold watch, silver coins, and antique jewelry, bottles and dolls.

Duquette entered an open plea rather than a plea agreement, leaving Justice Robert Clifford to determine a sentence. Clifford ordered Duquette to serve two years of a four-year prison sentence and three years of probation. Duquette must also not use illegal drugs or alcohol, have no contact with the Russell family, and pay $8,000 in restitution.

The plea dismissed charges related to the Oct. 8 break-in, and defense attorney Michael Whipple said there was no significant proof that Duquette had committed that crime.

O’Connor said Elbridge saw Duquette’s truck near the house on Oct. 8 and took down the license plate number. According to an affidavit by Cpl. Richard Murray of the Fryeburg Police Department, Duquette denied burglarizing the residence on that day and said he was looking for old bottles in the area, since he collected them.

Elbridge told the court that furniture in the residence was destroyed with an ax to access locked drawers. He said the burglary had done both fiscal and emotional damage to the family.

“This career criminal has devastated our family,” Elbridge said. “He should be held fully accountable for his actions.”

Linda said the antiques had been left to them by Elbridge’s mother and many had been stolen or destroyed. The antiques stolen in the Oct. 8 burglary were not recovered.

“These were her memories that were given to us,” Linda said.

O’Connor said Duquette has past convictions of breaking and entering, marijuana cultivation, receiving stolen property, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, burglary and theft from the 1980s and 1990s.

Whipple said Duquette served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps before being honorably discharged, attended technical college, and has been employed for most of his adult life. He said the crimes were a result of a cocaine addiction, and Duquette has since completed treatment.

Duquette’s father and a friend also addressed the court, as well as Duquette himself. Duquette apologized to the Russell family and said he intended to reimburse them.

“I wasn’t thinking that day,” he said. “If I was, I would have thought about all the things that would have resulted from that crime.”

mlangeveld@sunjournal.com