BANGOR – The day his trial was set to begin, an Old Town man pleaded guilty Monday to federal drug and gun charges instead of telling a jury that he grew marijuana plants to help his son beat an opiate addiction.

Larry N. Perkins, 48, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Bangor to possession with intent to manufacture marijuana and possession of a firearm by a felon. He also agreed to forfeit the Old Town property on Route 43 that police raided on July 11, 2003, an all-terrain vehicle and $1,250 in cash.

A sentencing date has not been set.

Perkins, who has been detained at the Penobscot County Jail awaiting sentencing, faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million on the marijuana charge and up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for the firearm charge.

Old Town police, along with state and federal drug agents, searched Perkins’ home after receiving a tip that he was growing marijuana there. The residence is a remodeled hunting camp that has been in his family for years, according to court documents.

They found 99 mature marijuana plants growing along the tree line of the property. Inside the residence were grow lights, fertilizer, processed dried marijuana, a drug ledger and $1,250 in cash, according to court documents.

Law enforcement officials also found nine firearms. Perkins was prohibited from having guns because of a 1998 conviction for domestic violence.

Since his indictment on federal charges in September 2003, Perkins has had three court-appointed attorneys. The first two, both based in Bangor, withdrew from the case citing communication and trust issues.

Perkins’ current attorney, Lynne A. Williams of Camden, tried to quit last month, but a federal judge denied her motion to withdraw.

Williams stated that Perkins had “sought to make his case a cause whereby to pursue his thoughts and philosophies regarding the legalization of marijuana. … Defendant’s irrational demands and [perseverance] have made it impossible to prepare for trial.”

Williams, however, filed a pretrial brief on Wednesday that outlined what her client’s defense would be at trial. She planned to present evidence that someone else had placed the marijuana seedlings on the property, but the person had refused to remove them despite Perkins’ repeated requests.

Evidence that Perkins grew some marijuana for his son, who “has had an opiate addiction for almost five years” but could not get into a methadone program, also was to be introduced, according to Williams’ brief.

“As any loving father would, Mr. Perkins chose to help his son eliminate, or at the least control this deadly habit, a source of potential physical, even fatal, harm,” the Camden attorney wrote. “Given the level of harm that was imminent, Mr. Perkins chose what he honestly believed was the lesser evil – to convince his son to utilize marijuana as a substitute for the opiates that he is addicted to.”