File photo by Dean Shalhoup Oscar Mosquera, left, talks with his attorney, Justin Shepherd, during his bail hearing in April in Hillsborough County Superior Court South. His case was settled Monday with a plea and sentencing agreement.

NASHUA – A plea agreement accepted Tuesday by a Superior Court judge spares New York resident Oscar Mosquera jail and prison time, but he must abide by all the terms of his sentencing order or risk a substantial stint behind bars.

Mosquera, 39, a native of Colombia who came to the U.S. and became a citizen at age 18, pleaded guilty to three of the five charges stemming from his arrest in April on accusations he took part in the theft of $50,000 worth of merchandise from a Merrimack Premium Outlets Mall retail store.

Represented by Nashua attorney Justin Shepherd since he was arrested, Mosquera at the hearing entered guilty pleas to one count each of receiving stolen property, a felony; reckless conduct, a felony; and disobeying a police officer, a misdemeanor.

He was sentenced to two terms of two to five years each in State Prison, all deferred for one year, on the felony charges, and to 12 months in jail, all deferred for one year, on the disobeying police offense.

The other two misdemeanor charges – reckless operation and operating after suspension of license – were dropped as part of the agreement.

Mosquera is to serve 100 hours of community service, and provide proof to the state upon request, the agreement states. He is also prohibited from having any contact with the Merrimack Premium Outlets Mall.

A resident of the Briarwood neighborhood of Queens, New York, Mosquera was apprehended on April 7 after he “sped out of the parking lot” of the Outlets Mall in an attempt to elude police.

They caught up to him on the Daniel Webster Highway, where they took him into custody, police said at the time.

In interviews with an investigator working for the defense, members of Mosquera’s family described him as a “good kid” who takes care of his ailing mother, loves taking his daughter to the park and playing basketball with his teenage son.

Not only is Mosquera a “really good father,” he looked after his younger siblings when they first came to America, his family told the investigator.

Prosecutors at Tuesday’s hearing asked Judge Charles Temple to sentence Mosquera to two to four years in State Prison, stand committed, but after weighing the input from both sides, Temple sided with the defense’s recommendation of deferred prison and jail time.

Dean Shalhoup can be reached at 594-1256, dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com, or @Telegraph_DeanS.

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