Andrew Vannortwick pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree home invasion for acting as a lookout while his girlfriend allegedly broke into the apartment of a man who was discovered dead hours earlier.

Vannortwick reached a plea deal with Washtenaw County prosecutors before his scheduled trial date next week. He was originally charged with first-degree home invasion and conspiracy to commit home invasion. Those charges were dropped as a part of the plea deal — the second-degree home invasion charge was added Wednesday.

Vannortwick and Rachel Schomaker were arrested in June for allegedly breaking into the apartment belonging to Norman Wilson, who had been found dead by his mother a few hours before.

Carolyn Armbruster, Wilson’s mother, said she found Wilson dead at about 1 p.m. June 8. She had gone over to the apartment to check on him because she hadn’t heard from him in two days.

Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the downtown Dexter apartment to investigate Wilson’s death and left before 5:30 p.m., when Armbruster and some family members returned to the home to collect some belongings. She said family members saw a woman climbing out of a window onto a fire escape.

When Vannortwick and Schomaker were arrested, deputies recovered some prescription medication they had allegedly stolen from Wilson. Vannortwick and Schomaker had known Wilson for more than a year, Armbruster said.

Armbruster said Vannortwick had called Wilson’s apartment shortly after she discovered her son dead and she had informed Vannortwick of Wilson’s death.

There were no signs of foul play in Wilson’s death. He had been disabled due to serious injuries suffered in a car crash in 2005, Armbruster said.

Vannortwick will be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 17 by Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge David Swartz. He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $3,000, but it is likely he will receive a sentence far below the maximum. He is free on bond.

Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.