Berwick man faces 10 years after pleading guilty on firearms charge

Adam Brake (Berwick Police photo)

PORTLAND, Maine - A Berwick man arrested last June in a burglary spree that plagued the Berwicks and Lebanon pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to illegally possessing firearms.

Adam Brake, 29, committed eight burglaries in the Berwick area in May 2016, spending much of the proceeds to fuel his heroin addiction, according to court records.

Police found computers and firearms in his possession and arrested him in June after many of the items were recovered where they had been hidden in a wooded area of Berwick.

Law enforcement agents recovered items stolen during six of the burglaries, including nine firearms. Brake was prohibited from possessing firearms because of a prior drug felony conviction.

At the time of the arrest police said Brake and his partner, Sabrina Goodrich, stole jewelry, electronics, computers, televisions, currency and more than 23 firearms.

Brake and Goodrich were burglarizing the homes to buy heroin, and often left their 4-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter in the vehicle while they committed the crimes, police said.

Brake faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The case was investigated by the North Berwick, South Berwick, Berwick, Wells and Eliot Police Departments; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.