FARMINGTON — A Strong man pleaded guilty to an amended aggravated trafficking in marijuana charge Friday and agreed to forfeit nearly $1,000.

Ronald Cabe, 52, of Norton Hill Road, was sentenced to one year of a five-year sentence with the Maine Department of Corrections. He was also ordered to serve two years’ probation and pay a $2,000 fine.

In the plea agreement, a charge of aggravated trafficking in marijuana that carried up to a 40-year sentence was reduced when language was eliminated in connection to 20 pounds of marijuana. The lesser classification carries up to five years in prison.

The agreement between Maine Assistant Attorney General David Fisher and Cabe and his attorney, David Sanders, also called for dismissal of charges of two counts of aggravated cultivating of marijuana, one count of aggravated trafficking in schedule drugs and violating condition of release.

If the case had gone to court, testimony would have been given that the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency executed a search warrant at Cabe’s residence and found large amounts of marijuana drying and an indoor growing operation, said Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson, who was standing in for Fisher.

They also found marijuana in individual Ziploc baggies and $923 in a wallet in pants on the couch, among other drug-related items, he said. They also found dried marijuana with a total weight of 10 pounds, Robinson said.

Cabe said he did not disagree with the state’s evidence.

Sanders asked for a three-week delay for Cabe to start his sentence so that he could help his mother, who is going to have knee surgery.

Robinson objected to that request, saying a “stay was a bad idea.”

Sanders said the matter had been set in June but was continued, and Cabe knew he was going to be sentenced to a year in jail and appeared Friday.

Justice Michaela Murphy compromised with staying the sentence for two weeks, ordering Cabe to report at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, to the Franklin County jail.

She also ordered Cabe’s $500 cash bail to be applied to the fine and for Cabe to pay another $100 before Sept. 4. He is also to report weekly to the Maine Pretrial Services Office at the jail until he goes to jail, she said. He is subject to random searching and testing as well, she said.

dperry@sunjournal.com