FARMINGTON – Alan Keith of New Sharon agreed his story was bizarre as he told a Superior Court justice he doesn’t deal marijuana – though police found 11.2 pounds in his attic.

Justice Michaela Murphy said his story sounded far-fetched.

It began in November 2007 when Keith was holding some guns for a friend involved in a domestic dispute. The friend asked for the guns back and Keith said ‘no’ because he knew the fellow wasn’t supposed to have them, Keith said. He called police and asked them to come get the firearms.

When Franklin County Cpl. Steve Charles arrived, he smelled a strong odor of marijuana. Keith turned over about one ounce of pot he grew for medicinal purposes, he said, to help ease the pain of a severely shattered knee.

Keith also gave Charles and Detective Tom White permission to search his Swan Road residence in New Sharon.

In his attic they found 11.2 pounds of marijuana, which police said was the largest haul and best quality discovered in Franklin County, Assistant Attorney General David Fisher told the court.

But the marijuana wasn’t his, Keith said.

While Keith was in New Jersey working that year, some people whose car broke down decided to hide the drugs in what they thought was a friend’s home, Keith and his lawyer, Woody Hanstein, said during proceedings. The friend had lived at Keith’s house for a bit before he moved next door to a trailer, they said.

Keith was alerted that five packages had been left at his home while he was away but he didn’t think anything of it. Since then, the friend died and there was no one to back up Keith’s story – and no one knew who dropped off the pot.

Hanstein presented pictures of Keith’s residence, which lacks electricity and some basic living needs and is sparsely furnished. His living conditions, Hanstein said, were not those of someone making money dealing drugs. Keith lives on a $686-a-month disability check, Hanstein said.

He said his client may have had a couple of drug possession charges and a conviction 20-plus years ago, but he had never spent a day in jail.

Before he was sentenced on gun and drug charges, Keith told the court he was very sorry for taking up everybody’s time.

“It is bizarre and I don’t believe it myself,” he said, adding that he was taken advantage of not once, but twice.

Murphy said she was willing to accept the explanation on the guns but she was concerned about drug possession.

Keith pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and aggravated unlawful furnishing of scheduled drugs. A felony charge of aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs was dropped by the state in a plea agreement. That agreement called for a six-month cap on jail time.

Keith, 57, will report Monday to the Franklin County jail to start serving a 30-day sentence. When he gets out, he will have to pay the remainder of a $1,000 fine.