GREENFIELD — An Orange man who lied about how his girlfriend got shot in their bedroom will spend the next 3½ to 5½ years in state prison after changing his plea in Franklin County Superior Court on Monday afternoon.

Conan J. Gentile, 52, pleaded guilty to two counts of misleading a police officer and single counts of misleading a witness, concealment or destruction of evidence, unlawful possession of ammunition and unlawful possession of a firearm. All charges except for the firearm offense carry sentences of six to eight years. These sentences will run concurrently, meaning at the same time, as will the two-year sentence associated with the firearm charge. Gentile will receive 990 days of credit for time he has been incarcerated since his Jan. 15, 2021, arrest.

Gentile’s change of plea came as part of an agreement between his defense attorney Jonah Goldsmith and Assistant District Attorney Erin Aiello, who prosecuted the case. The prosecution dropped a charge of reckless assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon.

“His plan is to serve his time, get out and piece his life back together for however long he has left,” Goldsmith told Judge Karen Goodwin.

Goldsmith said his client faced 15 years in prison if convicted in a trial.

Aiello acknowledged Gentile “has taken steps while incarcerated to better himself, and continues to do so.” Gentile will serve his time at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster.

Aiello told the court that Gentile called 911 at roughly 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 15, 2021, and said two masked men broke into his Lois Street residence and shot his girlfriend before fleeing. Gentile met authorities outside the home and escorted them inside, where they found a woman in bed bleeding heavily from her left leg. The woman, identified as Gentile’s girlfriend, was taken to Athol Hospital, where it was determined a bullet went through one leg and then the other.

According to Aiello, Gentile’s story began to unravel. It was learned he accidentally shot his girlfriend with a gun and ammunition he did not possess legally. An investigation revealed a truck had been outside the home the night before and the morning of the incident, and authorities learned Michael J. Coleman, who also resided in the house, had left in that truck and driven to Westminster shortly before the 911 call was made. Gentile had given Coleman a firearm inside a backpack and instructed him to bring it to friend Michael T. Rahaim in Westminster.

Aiello said Rahaim threw the gun into a pond near his home and authorities never recovered it. Coleman reportedly told authorities there had been no home invasion and the residence’s only inhabitants were himself, Gentile and Gentile’s girlfriend.

Goldsmith told the judge that Gentile takes full responsibility for the incident, which he stressed was an accident followed by a series of poor choices.

Coleman and Rahaim previously accepted plea deals for the charges they faced in connection with this incident.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.