For a trial that focused mostly on the difference between a Taser and a stun gun, Nobleboro's Scott Gifford's trial ended with a little charge.

Gifford, 52, who pleaded guilty to two class C charges, will await sentencing after reaching a plea agreement Wednesday, June 10 at the Lincoln County Court House on the first day of what was expected to be a two-day trial.

Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Liberman and defense attorney Seth Levy were able to come to a plea agreement before 4 p.m. that saw Gifford plead to two of four felonies he was originally charged with, and also saw the jury dismissed.

Gifford reportedly called his relative at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 27, 2014 and discovered when she would be returning from her job in Waldoboro. He waited outside her Damariscotta house, and when she arrived home he emerged from the bushes.

When the victim, whose name is being withheld, saw Gifford, she said she pleaded with him not to do anything. She said despite the homemade ski mask, which was presented at trial, she recognized Gifford, who is a relative.

“I turned to my right (because) something caught my attention,” she said. “When he looked into my eyes, I knew who it was and I said, 'Scott, don't do this.'”

The victim began to cry as she recounted how she was knocked down and heard the buzzing sound of a stun gun, which she described as sounding like a bug zapper. She said froze before striking Gifford in the head with her keys.

“I thought it was over,” she said. “I didn't know what was going to happen.”

Although no clear motive was given, Gifford allegedly admitted that he attacked the woman to scare her. The victim would lose a front tooth in the attack, but the stun gun never made contact with her.

A large portion of the trial centered on Damariscotta Police Sgt. Jason Warlick's testimony. Warlick not only recounted the night in question when he responded to the incident, but also Warlick's familiarity with the law enforcement issue stun gun, the Taser X-26.

Before being dismissed, the jury also watched a portion of Warlick's interview, which was conducted via a bullet-proof vest mounted camera. In the video, Gifford can be heard to say that he will “get these ideas in my head and act on them.”

The burden of proof would have been on the state to prove that the stun gun represented a potential for serious bodily injury had Gifford been able to make contact with the victim. Although the packing for the stun gun advertised 800,000 volts, it was unknown how many amps it produced, and how volts translated to the ability to cause pain.

Warlick, who admitted to having been Tased twice during his training, said the Taser model X-26 packs approximately 50,000 volts and .0034 amps. He said that 45 minutes after having been Tased he felt like he had been “hit by a truck.”

It was unknown what Gifford's model, which was recovered by a K-9 unit near the victim's house, would have done. Shortly after Warlick's testimony, the court was adjourned and approximately an hour later the two sides agreed on a plea deal.

Instead of class B threatening with a dangerous weapon, Gifford pleaded to a class C charge of criminal threatening and class C assault. The other two charges of class A aggravated assault and class B reckless conduct were both dismissed.

Because Gifford is still on probation from a 2004 sex abuse of a minor charge, he could face up to 13 years in prison if given the maximum penalty. Each class C charge carries with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine, and both charges can run consecutively along with the remainder of Gifford's 2004 conviction.

Gifford also has previous convictions for gross sexual misconduct in 1989 and 1986 and is a lifetime registrant on the Maine Sex Offenders registry.

At the end of the trial, Gifford, who did at one point wipe tears from eyes while the victim was speaking, was placed in handcuffs by Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies.