SKOWHEGAN — A judge called a Madison man’s outburst the worst courtroom conduct he has ever seen as he ordered him to serve 14 days in jail for contempt.

Chief District Judge Brent Davis handed down the order Thursday, one day after Daniel Safranec interrupted his initial appearance at Skowhegan District Court and was taken into custody.

“Yesterday was by far, by far, the worst behavior that I have ever seen,” Davis said, as Safranec was brought back to court from the Somerset County Jail in Madison.

“And, you continued to elevate, even though I was trying to get you through the process,” Davis said. “But the worst part, sir, was when the marshals were simply asking you to have a seat and step down when they were taking you into custody. As a result of that, sir, officers were injured, and somewhat seriously. 

“I have never seen that in a courtroom until yesterday. That is behavior that is just unacceptable in a courtroom. Unacceptable.”

Safranec, the owner of a Madison medical cannabis shop that town officials in July successfully got a judge to order closed due to his lack of state license, is charged with one Class B count of unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs and one Class B count of marijuana cultivation.

Wednesday morning, Safranec, 40, was scheduled for an initial appearance, along with dozens of other arraignments of other defendants. 

As Safranec is facing felony-level charges and a grand jury has not yet returned an indictment, he would not have been asked to enter a plea. Generally, in such a case, a judge simply informs the defendant of the charges and issues a return date for an arraignment on the pending indictment.

As the morning docket began, Safranec refused to stand when a judicial marshal instructed those in the gallery to stand for Davis to enter. At that time, Davis looked over to Safranec, but did not say anything, even as a marshal prompted Safranec again to stand.

When Safranec’s case was called hours later, his behavior escalated, according to officials.

“Sounds like he was acting out,” said Chief Deputy Mike Mitchell of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, which provides security at the two courthouses in Skowhegan. “He wasn’t doing what he was supposed to do as any defendant who goes into a courtroom. Basically, I think he was giving the judge a hard time. I don’t know the details of that part of it. But bottom line is, the judge had enough, warned him and finally placed him in contempt.”

When the judicial marshals went to take Safranec into custody, he fought back, Mitchell said.

Detective Jeremy Leal assisted the marshals and charged Safranec with refusing to submit to arrest, a misdemeanor-level offense. Bail for that charge was set at $100, jail records show. Leal, an investigator assigned to the Somerset County district attorney’s office, has an office in the District Court, Mitchell said.

Mitchell confirmed one marshal employed by the Sheriff’s Office had minor injuries from the scuffle but was back to work Thursday.

At the contempt hearing, Safranec apologized to Davis and courthouse staff.

“There’s a way better way to handle it and a more mature way to handle it,” Safranec told Davis. “I did speak, and you allowed that. And then you asked me to stop, and I did not stop. … I should’ve just listened.”

He acknowledged that acting in a more civil manner would have been more of a benefit for defending himself.

“I’m upset with the situation,” Safranec said of the pending criminal case, “but it doesn’t give me an excuse for the way I acted.”

Safranec’s attorney, Julia Lodsin, prefaced Safranec’s apology by saying there was no excuse for his conduct. But, she said, Safranec was frustrated as the pending charges stopped him from working as a medical cannabis caregiver, and he was eagerly awaiting the opportunity to defend himself months after being arrested.

“Then, he gets to court, and there’s no resolution,” Lodsin said. “Again, as lawyers and judges, we are familiar with that. We understand the process. We understand what an arraignment is. We understand that, especially when someone is charged with a felony, it’s probably not going to be resolved that day.

“But, for someone coming in who doesn’t have as much experience in the legal system, it can be extremely overwhelming.”

Lodsin also raised procedural issues with Davis’ initial order, saying that court rules require a defendant to be heard before a judge can issue sanctions for contempt.

Davis responded that he drafted an order earlier Thursday because county jail officials were unsure if they had the authority to hold Safranec. He said he would write a complete contempt order later Thursday after the hearing.

Davis also said he found Safranec’s apology to be “somewhat genuine” and considered that in ordering the 14-day jail sentence.

There was a heavy courtroom security presence Thursday. Joining two judicial marshals from the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office were three marshals from the state Judicial Marshal Service. 

Somerset County is one of two in the state where the Sheriff’s Office provides court security through a contract with the Judicial Branch instead of the state service.

Safranec was escorted by two transport officers from the Somerset County Jail. Leal and an off-duty Somerset County judicial marshal were also in the courtroom, along with two members of the public.

The charges against Safranec stem from July 30, when the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office executed two search warrants — one at Safranec’s home on East Madison Road and the other at his business, Simple Twist Cannabis Co. on Lakewood Road. Investigators arrested Safranec and he posted $10,000 cash bail.

Investigators seized more than 2,120 pounds of processed marijuana, 159 flowering marijuana plants, a large amount of marijuana-laced products, and more than $1,800 in cash and records, Sheriff Dale Lancaster said at the time.

Lancaster said the busts had nothing to do with the town’s civil matter heard in the court the week prior.

In that case, Judge Erika Bristol issued an order following a hearing July 24 that Simple Twist Cannabis and Safranec cease all distribution, sale and transfer of cannabis products until he obtains proper licenses from the state Office of Cannabis Policy and the town of Madison, court records show.

Bristol found that Safranec lacked a proper caregiver registry identification card from the Office of Cannabis Policy, which therefore put him out of compliance with a town ordinance on medical cannabis establishments.

Bristol also ordered Safranec and his company to pay the town’s legal fees of $2,932.09 and civil penalties totaling $29,100. In late August, Madison’s town attorney filed an affidavit indicating no payments had been made. The court issued a writ of execution in late September and there have been no further court filings since.

Safranec, who previously held the caregiver registry identification card for several years, argued that he lacked it because of procedural changes at OCP and paperwork issues.

In 2015, Safranec was sentenced to 12 months in prison for a federal marijuana manufacturing conviction in the Western District of New York.