ELLSWORTH – Better things were predicted for David Gabriel Patrick.

A former standout athlete at Brewer High School who at one point was ranked nationally in the high jump, Patrick was sentenced last week in Hancock County Superior Court to 11 months in a state prison and ordered to pay nearly $2,000 in restitution.

Patrick, 20, was convicted last year of stealing $1,960 from a relative who lives in Ellsworth, according to court documents.

When he was supposed to report to Hancock County Jail in December to spend 45 days behind bars as part of his overall 18-month sentence, he failed to show up.

“That kid has so much potential,” Patrick’s attorney, Jeffrey Toothaker of Ellsworth, said Monday.

At Patrick’s sentencing Thursday, Toothaker told Justice Jeffrey Hjelm that his client was once ranked eighth in the nation among high school athletes in the high jump.

Instead of continuing his athletic career into college, however, he chose the “drinking and drugging route” after he graduated from Brewer High in 2003, Toothaker said.

The judge admonished Patrick for making a “short-sighted decision” in not reporting to jail.

“It’s a pretty sad story,” Hjelm told the defendant. “You’ve got so much potential, so much talent.”

Patrick, who in court documents listed his profession as blueberry raker, seemed to begin crying as he was addressed by the judge but did not make a statement about the behavior that led to his convictions.

He asked for a stay of execution for his sentence but Hjelm denied the request.