Peter Vigue, chairman of the board at Pittsfield-based Cianbro Corp., has been indicted in Hancock County on three charges stemming from the firing of a small cannon at a Maine Maritime Academy football game in September.Vigue, 72, of Pittsfield is accused of firing a small cannon at the game in Castine. The blast from the cannon struck and injured a referee at the game, according to Hancock County District Attorney Matthew Foster.
Vigue was indicted Thursday by a Hancock County grand jury on criminal charges of aggravated assault, reckless conduct with a firearm and possessing or discharging a firearm on a school property.
Vigue, a Maine Maritime alumnus, had brought the cannon to the game and, as part of a school tradition, discharged it after MMA’s team scored, Foster said Thursday. A wad of an unidentified substance was fired from the cannon and struck the referee in the head as he was walking near the edge of the field during the second half of the game.
The referee was taken to a hospital but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, Foster said.
The incident was captured on video and posted online by local media.
Vigue did not respond to a message left late Thursday afternoon at his office.
It was not clear Thursday if he had hired a defense attorney to represent him on the charges.
Vigue served as CEO of Cianbro from 2001 to 2018, when he stepped down from that role to be replaced by his son, Peter “Andi” Vigue. The elder Vigue, who has been with Cianbro for 50 years, has stayed on as chairman of the board, a post he has held since 2008.
Foster said he is not sure what kind of recovery the referee has made since the incident.
“He’s not been cooperative,” the prosecutor said of the referee.
The aggravated assault and reckless conduct charges are class B and C felonies, respectively, while the firearm possession charge is a class E misdemeanor.
If convicted, Vigue could be sentenced to serve up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine on the aggravated assault charge, and up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine on the reckless conduct charge.
This story appears through a media sharing agreement with Bangor Daily News.