A man who broke a Greenbank man’s back during a burglary last year was recently sent to prison, according to court documents.

Paul Schmakeit, 21, pleaded guilty in Island County Superior Court Sept. 26 to residential burglary and assault in the second degree.

Under the terms of a plea bargain, both the prosecution and defense recommended an exceptional sentence of a year and eight months in prison. The judge agreed and imposed the sentence Oct. 28.

Schmakeit was burglarizing the home — allegedly to steal marijuana — when the homeowner caught him and went after him with a shovel July 27, 2015.

Schmakeit tackled the man to the ground, landing on top of him, the deputy’s report states. The fall broke the man’s back, but he continued fighting with the younger man until Schmakeit fled into a woods.

The man was unable to move or feel his legs and was on his back for about five hours until a friend rescued him and called the police. He suffered from a prior back injury and was left paralyzed by the assault, according to the report.

Schmakeit was later arrested by Canadian authorities at the Sumas border after trying to avoid a customs inspection by speeding away while armed with a handgun, according to the report by Detective James Scott.