AUGUSTA — A Waterville man pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated felony trafficking in marijuana for having 2.6 pounds of what the prosecutor described as flat, processed, pressed marijuana hidden in a safe in his car.

However, sentencing for Adam Scott Bajpai, 21, was deferred for 12 months to give him a chance to avoid that conviction.

If Bajpai fulfills the conditions of the deferred disposition, he will be able to withdraw his felony plea and instead plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana and be fined $1,000. If he fails to comply with the terms of the deferred disposition, the penalty could be a maximum of five years in jail.

The marijuana stash was discovered in a safe in a car outside a home on North Street in Waterville. The safe also contained $1,386 in cash, which Bajpai forfeited as part of the plea agreement.

The cache was found Sept. 9, 2012, after Waterville police were called to a disturbance at 82 North St., Assistant District Attorney Joelle Pratt told Justice Michaela Murphy in Kennebec County Superior Court.

A homeowner was trying to evict Bajpai, who had been living in the basement, because he was selling drugs, according to Pratt. Pratt also said the charge was aggravated because the location was within a safety zone near the Alfond Youth Center.

Waterville police said at the time Bajpai was cooperative with the investigation and opened the safe for them.

Conditions of Bajpai’s deferred disposition ban him from the use and possession of alcohol and illegal drugs and require him to pay a $25-per-month supervision fee to the Kennebec County District Attorney’s Office.

A number of other people were sentenced Tuesday in separate hearings in Kennebec County Superior Court:

• Samantha Arnold, 26, of Waterville, theft by unauthorized taking or transfer Sept. 11, 2012, in Augusta; $400 fine.

• Joshua Lee Graves Sr., 34, of Augusta, domestic-violence assault Dec. 29, 2012, in Augusta; 364-day jail sentence, with all but six months suspended, two years of probation, completion of certified batterers’ intervention program, concurrent with a six-month probation revocation on a Lincoln County conviction.

• Kenneth J. Koza, 52, of Pittston, criminal operating under the influence Nov. 11, 2012, in Pittston; two-year jail sentence, with all but 30 days suspended, two years of probation, $1,100 fine, six-year license and registration suspension.

• Brian Thomas Mulkern, 33, of Winthrop, attempted trafficking in heroin, Sept. 22, 2012, in Winthrop; 28-month prison sentence.

• James Roy O’Clair II, 37, of Waterville, domestic-violence assault, criminal mischief and violation conditions of release between Dec. 28, 2012, and Jan. 17, 2013, six-month jail sentence.

• Timothy M. Renner, 28, of Hallowell, operating after habitual-offender revocation Aug. 17, 2012, in Waterville; seven-month jail sentence, $1,000 fine.

Betty Adams — 621-5631
badams@centralmaine.com