SKOWHEGAN -- The last of three young men charged in connection with an armed robbery at the Skowhegan State Fair in 2008 has been sentenced to serve 16 months in prison.

Michael P. Ramos, 21, of Madison, was sentenced in Somerset County Superior Court earlier this month after pleading guilty to robbery, according to court records. The sentence imposed on Ramos was eight years in jail, with all but 16 months suspended and three years probation once he is released.

Ramos also was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,400 within 24 months of his release. He also is to have no contact with his co-defendants in the case, Shane T. Starks and Russell D. Berry, both of Madison.

Ramos is additionally ordered not to return to the Skowhegan State Fairgrounds, according to court documents.

The charge against Ramos in the original indictment was a Class A felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The indictment was amended to a Class B felony, carrying a maximum of 10 years.

Waterville lawyer Francis Griffin Jr., who represented Ramos, could not be reached for comment on the case.

District Attorney Evert Fowle said the sentences imposed on Ramos and Berry were nearly identical.

"They basically got equivalent sentences," Fowle said. "Ramos got 16 months, Berry got 18 months, in; both were put on probation. I think it's true that Ramos was more responsible for the planning of this, but Berry's criminal record was much more pronounced -- those two factors kind of offset each other."

Police said the gunman, later identified as Starks, wore a ski mask, black gloves and aviator-style sunglasses during the hold-up. He pointed the weapon at the attendant at the Russell Road gate, grabbed money and escaped on foot to a waiting car near the fair's Beech Street entrance.

Divers from the Maine State Police Dive Team fished the weapon from the Kennebec River in Madison, about 25 to 30 yards from the railroad trestle near the former Anson Stick mill.

Skowhegan police said the gun was recovered because "some information was shared" on the case, but they declined to elaborate.

Starks, who was 17 when the crime happened, was charged as a juvenile with armed robbery. He was committed to the Mountain View Youth Development Center in Charleston until his 20th birthday.

Prosecutors said Berry was the driver in the holdup. He pleaded guilty as an adult in Superior Court in January to robbery in the same case.

Berry was sentenced to eight years in prison, with all but 18 months suspended.

Doug Harlow -- 474-9534, ext. 342

dharlow@centralmaine.com