An Ephrata man called a "vandal bandit" by investigators thanked a Lancaster County judge Tuesday for handing him a sentence of 3 to 10 years in state prison.

David M. Wood, 23, admitted in December to committing 32 burglaries of businesses in seven northern Lancaster County municipalities in 2009.

Judge Joseph C. Madenspacher sentenced Wood to the prison term and placed him on probation for 10 years upon his release.

Wood, who confessed to 78 felonies that could have earned him a sentence of 844 years in prison, smiled and blew a kiss to his supporters as the judge handed down his sentence.

"Your honor, I'd like to thank you for giving me that sentence," Wood said after the hearing. "I was expecting you to give me a lot more, to be honest with you."

Madenspacher replied, "I don't often get thanked for a state prison sentence."

Wood and his accomplice, Alexander J. Mayer, broke into the businesses for "fun and games," according to Madenspacher.

"I don't think you're a bad kid," Madenspacher told Wood.

Madenspacher said he handed Mayer the same sentence when he came before him last year.

The vandals wrote mocking messages to the owners, drew profane images and left photos of themselves dressed in black clothing, according to testimony.

Assistant District Attorney Joshua Parsons said the vandals wrote, "We will be back. We will kill you."

Madenspacher said the acts went far beyond typical pranks.

"This isn't going around and throwing toilet paper into trees," he said. "It's mind-boggling."

Following the hearing, District Attorney Craig Stedman said prosecutors left the sentence up to the court and did not offer a plea deal.

"We assess the facts and seriousness of each case, as well our ability to prove it in court, and victim input to make a determination as to whether we will extend a plea offer or not," he said. "This case involved an almost countless number of crimes and the defendant faced a maximum of 844 years in jail.

"It is certainly discouraging that a defendant such as this is relieved by his sentence, but he is going to state prison."

While calling the crimes "childish" and "destructive," defense attorney Cory J. Miller said the sentence was "fair and appropriate."

"He was cooperative with the various detectives and assisted them in piecing together the entire spree that occurred back in 2009," Miller said of his client.

Wood told the judge he sees state prison as a second chance.

"I'm deeply sorry for the anger and confusion I caused all my victims," he said. "I've been very selfish, immature for a long time. I still have some nice qualities."

Parsons said the crimes had characteristics of psychopathic behavior.

"This was not a normal string of burglaries," he said. "It seems like this was about fun for the defendants.

"If police hadn't done such good police work, they (the bandits) would still be at it today."

bhambright@lnpnews.com