The man who kidnapped a couple and drove them to South Carolina before being apprehended and then escaping from the Warren County Jail has pleaded guilty.

Michael C. Burham, 35, pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats, theft and burglary as part of a negotiated plea before Judge Gregory Hammond on Thursday at the Warren County Courthouse.

He also pleaded guilty to a single count of escape.

It was his escape from the Warren County Jail back in July that precipitated a 10-day manhunt that brought the county national and international attention.

“The defendant was on the run for nine days in an attempt to evade justice,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said in a statement after the plea.

“I commend the efforts of Pennsylvania State Police who took this defendant into custody, as well as my team, the Warren County District Attorney’s Office, and the City of Warren Police Department, for their work in holding the defendant accountable for his many crimes.”

Burham had initially been charged with 33 charges at the docket that centered on the kidnapping incident.

District Attorney Rob Greene explained why the plea was to just five of those offenses.

He said during court proceedings Thursday that the “majority of the charges are somewhat duplicative.”

The charges that Burham pleaded to, Greene explained, “hits all the actual things that Mr. Burham did” and would help avoid merger and consolidation issues at sentencing.

Burham, dressed in a black-striped prison jumpsuit, then admitted to the conduct at each charge and formally entered the plea.

The maximum sentence on the charges subject to the plea is just over 60 years in prison, though the actual sentence is likely to be much less than the maximum.

Hammond told Burham that he would be reviewing potential deadly weapons enhancements prior to sentencing, which is currently set for Jan. 5.

In exchange for the plea in Warren County Court, the following offenses will not be prosecuted by the District Attorney’s Office: five counts of kidnapping, two counts each of unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, aggravated assault, simple assault, harassment, disorderly conduct, theft and criminal trespass as well as single counts of possession of an instrument of crime with intent, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property, criminal trespass and loitering and prowling at night time.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office will not prosecute a count of conspiracy (escape) in exchange for the plea to the escape charge.

Burham has been considered the prime suspect in connection to the May death of Kala Hodgkin, 34, inside her William Street home in Jamestown. No charges have not been announced by the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office.