AUBURN – A local man who pleaded guilty to two felonies in connection with a December home invasion was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Brian Joseph Paladino, 32, also was sentenced to four years, which he’ll serve at the same time, on a charge of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon.

Police said Paladino broke into a Lewiston apartment occupied by brothers Lucas Messer and Nicholas Herrick. The girlfriends of the two men also were in the apartment at the time of the attack, police said.

A second suspect in the attack apparently fled before police arrived.

Paladino and the second man forced their way into the Elm Street home intending to assault the two men, according to a grand jury indictment.

Paladino was charged with aggravated assault stemming from injuries sustained by Messer, who was assaulted by Paladino with a gun. Herrick was hit in the head with a crowbar, sending him to the hospital.

Other charges against Paladino, including burglary and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, were dismissed by a judge.

In an earlier interview with the Sun Journal, the brothers said they were able to subdue their masked attackers.

Messer said he wrestled the .22-caliber handgun from Paladino’s grip after the two fought. Messer said Paladino aimed the gun at him, but it apparently jammed.

The other attacker fled when Herrick managed to peel back part of his mask as the two grappled in a bedroom, he said.