A teenager pleaded guilty Thursday to burglary of an auto repair shop and then driving off with a pickup in September.

Tazman Ellender entered his change of plea before Natrona County District Judge Catherine Wilking.

Ellender pleaded to felony counts of burglary and grand larceny, and a misdemeanor account of driving away with a vehicle. A more serious felony count of aggravated burglary -- a gun was in one of the vehicles -- was dismissed as part of the plea agreement reached by his attorney Kurt Infanger and Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Hambrick.

Although he was 17 at the time of his arrest in October, he was charged as an adult, according to court records.

He will be sentenced at a later date.

During his plea, Ellender told Wilking that he broke into the Beverly Street Auto Repair and tried to drive off with a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee. However, that vehicle had mechanical problems and he didn't go anywhere.

Instead, Ellender drove off with a 2008 Dodge Dakota. He was found somewhere on Casper Mountain, he said.

Infanger asked Wilking to change Ellender's bond from $10,000 to a personal recognizance bond. His parents, who were in the courtroom, are financially strapped and can't afford even the 10 percent of the cash bond charged by a bail bondsman, Infanger said. Ellender would live with his parents, he added

Ellender also has fallen behind in his schoolwork and needs to catch up, he said.

Hambrick responded that Ellender has been a runaway before, and asked the bond be reduced to a $5,000 cash or surety bond.

Wilking agreed with Hambrick and lowered the bond to $5,000.

More From K2 Radio