82-year-old Gulfport woman thought she had hired a repairman. Then a burglar sneaked in.

An 82-year-old woman with a home security system had placed an ad to hire a repairman to fix her back door.

Late one night, just after 11 p.m., she was startled by the sound of her burglar alarm. She began looking around and saw a two-tone SUV in her driveway. She didn't know someone was in her house, but she called the police.

Police officers found her back door partially open, and the woman realized her purse was missing. The woman told police the SUV, which had driven off, looked like the one her repairman drove.

Video from the woman's security system showed the repairman inside the house while she was looking around for signs of a problem, Assistant District Attorney Billy Stage said.

The man had come in the house through the door he was hired to fix.

Arthur William McMillian, 48, of Long Beach has pleaded guilty to the burglary of the woman's home near Pass Road on the city's east side on Nov. 21, 2016, Stage said.

Considering the evidence, McMillian admitted guilt this week before Circuit Judge Larry Bourgeois.

Bourgeois scolded McMillian before sentencing him to 25 years in prison, Stage said.

Bourgeois suspended seven years, leaving 18 years to serve. The judge also ordered five years of probation.

This is McMillian's third felony conviction.

McMillian was convicted of aggravated assault in Florida in 1994 and of burglary in Virginia in 1986, said Stage, who prosecuted the case.

This story was originally published June 28, 2018 at 5:00 AM.