MONROE — A “sophisticated burglar” with a history of convictions going back over 35 years in Wisconsin was convicted and sentenced last week in Green County for four more burglaries across four counties, including breaking into a downtown Brodhead bar.

Mark D. Goad, 55, pleaded no contest Oct. 10 to four felony burglary charges, with 38 related charges dismissed as part of a plea deal. He was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison and five years on extended supervision.

His convictions correspond to burglaries of businesses in Green, Juneau, Columbia and Sauk counties in July and August 2016.

District Attorney Craig Nolen said he consolidated the cases between the four counties. A fifth conviction from a March 2016 burglary in Jefferson County was sentenced separately in May. Goad received a sentence of three years in prison and five years on extended supervision in that case.

The five burglaries share the “same nature, same motivation,” Nolen said. Goad got out of prison in February 2016 and told authorities he started committing burglaries to support a cocaine habit.

“He was going after a lot of bars,” Nolen said.

Goad’s local conviction stems from an early-morning break-in at Bridge’s Bar and Grill, 1034 1st Center Ave., Brodhead, on July 13, 2016.

According to court records, Goad snipped wires belonging to Charter Communications outside the bar, then broke into the establishment using a crowbar and took $500 from the bar area, knocked over and pried open an ATM machine, taking $4,060 and causing $2,190 in damages, and took $100 from the jukebox and $200 from four gaming machines.

“He’s a sophisticated burglar. He knows how to be a good burglar, cutting (wires to) alarms and electricity,” Nolen said.

At Bridge’s, Goad didn’t cut the right wires, “so we got him on video, but he was fully masked.”

Besides bars, Goad also burglarized a BP gas station in Arlington, Nolen said.

Goad has spent the better part of his life in jail and prison. Wisconsin state court records show convictions going back to 1982 for burglary, fraud, cocaine possession, bail jumping and resisting an officer causing substantial bodily harm.

“He’s never had a terribly long stint of freedom,” Nolen said.

Goad owes over $23,000 in restitution and other court assessments.