Attempted stun gun attack leads to 13 years in prison

Tue, 06/23/2015 - 6:00pm

    A Nobleboro man who pleaded guilty to attempting to use a stun gun on a relative has been sentenced to prison for more than a decade.

    Scott Gifford, 52, of Nobleboro pleaded guilty to two felony charges on June 10 at the Lincoln County Courthouse and was sentenced to two concurrent five-year terms, which will be added to a previous conviction for a total of 13 years.

    Gifford had originally been charged with class A aggravated assault and assault with a deadly weapon, but the class A charge was dismissed before the trial began and the jury was ultimately dismissed as both sides reached a plea deal.

    Gifford was arrested in August 2014 after he attacked a female relative outside of her Damariscotta home and reportedly attempted to use a stun gun on her.

    In 2004, Gifford was convicted of multiple crimes, including four counts of felony sexual abuse of a minor, two counts of misdemeanor assault, and one count of obstructing the report of a crime or injury.

    For those convictions Gifford was sentenced to 10 years in prison with all but two years suspended and was given probation with the agreement that he would commit no new criminal acts. He was also placed on the Maine Sex Offender Registry.

    On June 10, Gifford pleaded guilty to one count of felony assault and one count of criminal threatening, which are both class C crimes. The maximum penalty for a class C crime is five years in prison, which Gifford was given. Both sentences from the June 10 plea will run concurrently, and will be added to the previous eight years for a total of 13 years.