NORTHAMPTON — A Holyoke man admitted in court Wednesday he broke into numerous automated area car washes to support a serious drug addiction.

Timothy Rothus, 36, pleaded guilty to 12 charges, including five counts of breaking and entering in the nighttime, three charges of larceny under $250, and three counts of breaking into a depository.

Rothus was indicted by a grand jury on nine of the charges while three came as part of a district attorney’s complaint.

On Thursday, Hampshire Superior Court Judge Mary-Lou Rup sentenced Rothus to serve two years in the Hampshire House of Corrections followed by three years of probation with conditions, including that he not use alcohol or drugs and that he participate in an intensive outpatient program.

In court Wednesday, Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Matthew Thomas described Rothus’ actions as a “spree” and called his “50-bag-a-day drug habit” extraordinary.

Defense Attorney Rachel Weber told Rup that Rothus “was suffering from a serious heroin addiction” and hasn’t had a “significant amount of treatment.”

She added that he had been to Suboxone clinics in the past but was unable to keep attending after losing his insurance.

Since his arrest, Rothus has been in the Hampshire County House of Corrections where he has been attending both Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, Weber said.

“He knows he needs to get his life in order,” she said. “He knows his life really hangs in the balance here.”

During a span of about two months between March and May 2016, according to court documents, Rothus hit car washes in Northampton, Southampton, Amherst and Granby as well as a supermarket in Easthampton. In total, Rothus was able to take $466.

“He did everything he could to avoid interacting with other people,” Weber said. “(They were) very clearly acts of desperation to feed his addiction.”

Rothus was eventually arrested in Southampton in May 2016 after an employee of a car wash saw him taking “an inordinate amount of time” at the money depository, Thomas told the court.

The employee also noticed a screwdriver wedged into the machine and ended up jumping into the bed of Rothus’ truck until police arrived, Thomas continued.

When he was arrested, Rothus told police he was stealing “in order to feed a 50-bag-a-day drug habit,” Thomas said.

Following his sentencing Thursday, Rothus’ mother, Debbie Rothus, said outside the courtroom she was hopeful her son was on the right path.

“He got mixed up with heroin. It almost took his life a couple of times,” she said. “Hopefully, he’s on the up and up.”

She added she felt there needed to be more programs to help those with substance abuse issues.

Rothus has been incarcerated for more than 350 days and has received credit for the days he has already served.

Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.