SKOWHEGAN — A man charged in connection with one of the dozens of suspected illegal marijuana growing operations investigated in Maine this year entered a plea agreement Monday, marking the first such case to be resolved in Somerset County.

And in the case of Xi Qiang Zhao, that resolution may mean no conviction at all.

Appearing at Skowhegan District Court on Monday afternoon, Zhao, 57, who has Skowhegan and Brooklyn, New York, addresses listed in court records, pleaded guilty to one Class D count of marijuana cultivation with a deferred disposition.

Per the agreement, prosecutors dismissed two felony-level charges initially brought against Zhao: Class B marijuana cultivation and Class B unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs.

The deferred disposition means prosecutors will dismiss the replacement misdemeanor-level charge in one year if Zhao completes terms to which he agreed. Those include that he not use or possess marijuana or marijuana products and have no contact with two other people charged with Zhao in connection with the March bust in Skowhegan.

District Court Judge Andrew Benson, who accepted Zhao’s guilty plea, ordered Zhao to return to court in Skowhegan on Dec. 8, 2025, for a hearing on the deferred disposition.

If determined successful then, the charge will be dropped, according to court records. If unsuccessful, the guilty plea will be considered an “open plea,” meaning a judge would determine a sentence.

In the meantime, Zhao was released on personal recognizance bail. Zhao had posted $10,000 cash bail in the days after his March arrest, court records show.

Zhao, who was represented by court-appointed attorney Jennifer Cohen and assisted by a Cantonese-English interpreter, was arrested March 1 after the Somerset County sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at a residence on Waterville Road.

Inside the home, investigators said they found evidence of a large-scale, illegal marijuana growing operation. Authorities seized nearly 5,000 plants, according to the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.

The bust came as federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies across Maine investigated dozens of such operations, which the U.S. attorney’s office has said could be connected to transnational, organized Chinese crime. The investigations have also prompted questions about human trafficking, a suspected connection to the fentanyl trade and health concerns related to black mold, among others.

In the last year, search warrants have been executed at more than 50 Maine residences believed to have been converted into illegal growing facilities, according to information from law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and various media reports.

According to information released by the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, 20 of those search warrants were executed in Somerset County between January and June.

Leaving the courtroom after the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Briana White, the prosecutor, confirmed Zhao’s case was the first one stemming from those search warrants in which the Somerset County district attorney’s office has reached a plea agreement.

Prosecutors came to the agreement in Zhao’s case because evidence indicated he was only in Maine for two days before his arrest, White said. That meant it was unlikely he had a significant role in growing all the plants found at the house, which were in various states of maturity when the search warrant was executed, White said.

Under Maine law, the number of plants is the statutory difference between Class B marijuana cultivation, the dismissed charge, and Class D marijuana cultivation, the charge to which Zhao pleaded guilty. The Class D count specifies Zhao grew or cultivated more than five marijuana plants.

Meanwhile, the other cases in Somerset County from the wave of busts earlier this year are still pending, and some law enforcement investigations are ongoing, White said.

In Somerset County this year, 11 people have been arrested and charged in connection with alleged illegal marijuana growing operations, according to the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office and court records.

State prosecutors dropped charges against Jiamin Liao, 30, in August as federal prosecutors charged Liao in U.S. District Court. All the other defendants in Somerset County have been indicted and entered not guilty pleas to various counts of unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs and marijuana cultivation, court records show.

As for those cases, three are scheduled Tuesday, Dec. 17, for docket call, court records show, essentially a status hearing to decide which cases on the court’s docket to schedule for trial.

Four cases are scheduled for dispositional conferences in January, February and March. Two cases had no next hearing scheduled as of last week, according to court records.

White said Monday she was not sure how prosecutors in other counties are handling their similar cases.

Determining the statuses of all cases statewide was not possible Monday and Tuesday, since court documents in Maine are generally available only as physical records filed at courthouses in each county.