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A Brookeville man who police charged in connection with the break-in of an unmarked Montgomery County police vehicle in which a rifle and other weapons were stolen was not prosecuted for that crime, but will serve 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to four charges in two other incidents, county police and prosecutors say.

Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office spokesman Seth Zucker said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Stephen Urban Garland in the June 28-29 police vehicle break-in. Montgomery County Police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said the State's Attorney's Office decided not to prosecute Garland for the break-in despite having probable cause.

Garland's attorney, identified in court documents as Howard R. Cheris of Rockville, could not be reached for comment by Tuesday afternoon.

His associate, Catherine Woolley of Rockville, said last week that Garland entered a guilty plea stemming from charges filed for incidents on June 16 and July 5, that included altering an identification number on a firearm and driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol. Some of the other charges against Garland were not prosecuted because of the plea agreement, she said.

State online court records show Garland, 32, of the 22000 block of New Hampshire Avenue, was charged with one count of theft between $1,000 and $10,000, one count of rogue and vagabond behavior and one count of malicious destruction of property stemming from the theft of weapons and equipment from the police vehicle parked in front of the officer's house in Brookeville. The break-in and theft occurred between the night of June 28 and morning of June 29, when the officer found the items missing from his car, county police said.

Those charges were dropped Aug. 10, as were several charges from a June 16 theft except for one charge of illegal possession of a firearm and the charge of altering an identification number on a firearm. Garland pleaded guilty to those two charges and was sentenced to five years in jail, with all five years suspended, and a fine of $1,000 and court costs, according to online court documents.

Garland also pleaded guilty to one charge of resisting arrest stemming from a July 5 incident and was sentenced to three years in jail with all but 18 months suspended, according to online court documents. Zucker said Garland also pleaded guilty to driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol.

He also was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine plus court costs and placed on probation until July 11, 2013.

Sometime between 9 p.m. June 28 and 5:30 a.m. June 29, a thief broke the rear window of a police vehicle, which was parked at the officer's residence in the 2500 block of Sapling Ridge Lane, off of New Hampshire Avenue, and stole weapons and ammunition.

A Colt M-4 rifle, a baton, two loaded M-4 magazines, two loaded .40-caliber Glock magazines, two sets of handcuffs, two county police badges, a bulletproof vest, gloves, a left-handed size L-10 GearWrench-brand glove, a plastic rifle case, a briefcase, and Safeway and Giant store cards, adding up to more than $1,500 in value, were reported stolen, according to police charging documents.

Garland was charged with another vehicle break-in on June 16 in the 2100 block of Crossmeadow Drive after Montgomery County Police identified him in surveillance photographs attempting to use the victim's Chevy Chase Bank debit card at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Washington, D.C., according to charging documents in Montgomery County District Court.

Montgomery County Police Officer Melanie Brenner said police recovered the missing M-4 assault rifle, worth $800, and some ammunition, but could not elaborate further on how or where it was found.

Police obtained a warrant and searched Garland's residence July 7 and found two firearms, a .22-caliber Arminius revolver and a 20-gauge Stevens shotgun with an unreadable serial number above the ceiling in a storage room next to his bedroom, according to the charging documents.

They also found a single, left-handed GearWrench glove, identical to and the same size as the one stolen from the police officer's car, as well as Giant and Safeway store cards also identical to the ones missing from the officer's unmarked vehicle, according to charging documents.

At that point, Garland had been in jail for two days following charges of driving while impaired by drugs, possession of a concealed deadly weapon and possession of illegal drugs on July 5, according to online court documents.

Police also found a small knife, an LED flashlight and a pair of gloves, items "consistent with tools that are commonly used to break into vehicles," according to the charging documents.

When Garland was questioned by police July 8, he said the two firearms recovered by police belonged to him, the charging documents state.