ROCKLAND —   A Rockland man pleaded guilty Nov. 23 to felony theft for illegally obtaining unemployment benefits from the Maine Department of Labor.

Randall Butler, 52, was sentenced to a deferred disposition agreement, approved by Justice William Stokes, in Knox County Unified Court.

He was indicted by the Grand Jury in June for committing the unemployment theft from March through May, 2015.

Under the conditions of the deferred disposition, Butler will serve 45 days in jail if he meets the terms of the agreement during the next 18 months.

The terms of the agreement include that Butler will pay restitution of $4,473.84 during the next 18 months and refrain from any criminal conduct. If he fails to meet the terms of the deferred disposition, he will be sentenced to two years in jail with all but 90 days suspended and serve two years of probation.

Butler was represented by Attorney Kimberly Richardson, of Brunswick.

He will appear in court again on May 23, 2018.

Reach Sarah Shepherd at news@penbaypilot.com