An Everett man accused of second-degree burglary, second-degree theft, possession of another person’s identification, and mail theft had his potential prison term cut in half after agreeing to get drug treatment while incarcerated.

Nicholas Aaron Heiner, 41, was sentenced to 29.75 months in prison Friday in Jefferson County Superior Court.

Once released, he will also stay on community custody for 29.75 months.

Scott Charlton, Heiner’s court-appointed attorney, said his client was a much different man than the one who was taken into custody earlier this year.

Heiner, he added, had been hoping to have his charges transferred to drug court. But since Heiner does not live in Jefferson County, that wasn’t an option.

“He’s invested in being clean and sober,” Charlton said, noting a 10-year period of sobriety earlier in Heiner’s life.

“At 41 years old, now it’s time to make it stick,” Charlton said.

Heiner told Superior Court Judge Keith Harper about his 9-year-old son, adding: “It really kills me not being there, being an assistant baseball coach.”

“I owe that to him,” Heiner said. “I’m not happy about the things I’ve done in my active addiction. It sucks but it’s taken this for me to realize that.”

Heiner was arrested Feb. 20 on charges of second-degree burglary, third-degree theft, and third-degree malicious mischief after a sheriff’s deputy found him hiding in the rafters of the storage unit he had broken into in Kala Point.

A deputy called out to a report of a Range Rover racing a Cadillac Escalade in the Kala Point area led the deputy to a 2004 Escalade parked near Gary Avenue.

The Escalade had a fake travel permit posted in the window, and the Cadillac was parked in a weird way near Kala Point Storage.

Hearing noises coming from Unit No. 10, a deputy noticed it was the only unit that was missing a hasp from its lock.

Inside the unit, moving and scraping sounds could be heard. But when deputies tried to open the unlocked storage unit, something inside blocked their multiple attempts to get the door open.

Deputies later discovered Heiner had been in the rafters of the storage unit, pushing back on the door.

When the two deputies finally forced open the door, Heiner then fell from the rafters, landing in an inflatable boat. An ID was found in Heiner’s wallet that had another man’s name on it.

The person who was renting the storage unit told authorities a blue Makita miter chop saw, worth about $800, was missing, along with another $200 in hand tools.

A blue Makita miter chop saw was found in the Escalade, which Heiner had earlier told deputies belonged to him.

During his change-of-plea hearing Friday, Heiner was sentenced on the three charges from Jefferson County — second-degree burglary, second-degree theft, and possession of another person’s identification — plus a fourth charge of mail theft from Kitsap County.

Prosecutors from both counties reached a “global resolution” to have the charges from Jefferson and Kitsap resolved at the same time as part of Heiner’s plea agreement.

In addition to pleading guilty on the Jefferson charges, Heiner pleaded guilty to theft of mail in Kitsap County that occurred between Feb. 1 and Feb. 25. The maximum penalty for theft of mail upon conviction is five years in prison plus a $10,000 fine.

Heiner was facing a standard sentencing range of 51 to 68 months in prison on the felony charge of second-degree burglary.

His sentences on the charges will run concurrently; all at the same time.

Heiner vowed to use his time in prison to overcome his addiction.

“My son deserves a clean and sober dad and not a dad that’s a career criminal,” Heiner told the judge.

Harper said he had time to turn things around.

“You’re older, but you’re still a young guy compared to me,” Harper said. “You have a lot ahead of you.”

“Good luck with all of this and good luck with your family,” the judge added. “I hope this all works out.”