BRENTWOOD — A former Apple Store employee was sentenced to serve 90 days in jail on Monday for working with another man to steal $142,500 in merchandise — including MacBooks, Monster Beat headphones and other pricey electronics.

Roberto Sanchez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass., pleaded guilty to three felony counts of accomplice to theft by unauthorized taking as part of a negotiated deal that will keep him out of state prison if he doesn’t violate the terms of his probation.

Sanchez was ordered to serve 90 days in jail on Monday, part of a 12-month jail sentence that will remain largely suspended if he can remain on good behavior.

He was also sentenced to a deferred two- to four-year state prison term that can be imposed if he doesn’t meet the requirements of his plea deal. He and his partner in the scheme are required to pay the Apple Store — located at the Mall at Rockingham Park in Salem — full restitution for the thefts.

While working at the Apple Store, Sanchez allegedly used the paychecks to bypass the store’s internal security system, allowing him and his partner, David Keene, 29, to steal a variety of store merchandise.

Keene, of Dracut, Mass., was sentenced to five to 10 years in state prison after pleading guilty to felony theft charges in December.

The two men used their bogus check scam between March 14, 2009, and December 21, 2010, as a way to gradually take the store merchandise, according to prosecutors and court documents.

Prosecutors said Keene used 21 checks from banking accounts that were either closed or had insufficient funds to buy products at the Apple Store.

Keene admitted to Salem police that he resold the merchandise he had stolen from the store, prosecutors said.

After Sanchez finishes his jail term, he will have to appear in court again to show why the deferred prison sentence should not be imposed.

jkimble@newstote.com