A former Batavia resident now living in Henrietta who was arrested for trying to light a fire in the window of a house on East Avenue entered a guilty plea this morning to attempted burglary in the second degree.
It was a unique plea deal that will make Brian Sprague, 25, eligible for a probationary sentence.
He was originally charged with attempted arson, 2nd, a Class C violent felony, and criminal mischief. But conviction on those charges would not give Judge Robert C. Noonan the option of a probationary sentence, if he found it appropriate.
There is no lesser included offense in attempted arson, 2nd, so under the theory that by breaking a window, Sprague was attempting a burglary, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman offered Sprague the chance to plead guilty to that charge.
However, the facts of the case don't entirely support that charge, so under what's known as an Alford Plea -- where the defendent admits the facts of the case would likely mean a jury conviction if the case went to trial -- Friedman recited the facts of the attempted arson charge.
Sprague then entered a guilty plea to the attempted burglary charge, a Class D violent felony.
Sprague was arrested on the arson charge in September after residents on East Avenue were awakened by the sound of glass breaking. When they came downstairs later, they found gasoline had been poured around the window and through the window.
Sentencing will be at a later date and probation is no guarantee. The probation department will conduct a pre-sentence report for Noonan to review prior to sentencing.
The maximum prison time possible for a Class D violent felony is seven years.
The plea also satisfies a criminal mischief charge in the Town of Batavia.
