ELLSWORTH — The arraignment of Peter Vigue, chairman of the Pittsfield based construction company Cianbro Corp., on charges stemming from the firing of a cannon at a Maine Maritime Academy football game in September, has been rescheduled following a motion to continue filed by the defense.
Peter Vigue Photo courtesy of Cianbro
Vigue, 72, of Pittsfield, was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday morning to be arraigned on charges of aggravated assault, reckless conduct with a firearm and possessing or discharging a firearm on school property after a cannon he fired at a Maine Maritime football game injured a referee.
After a motion to continue was approved by a judge Monday afternoon, Vigue’s new court date is scheduled for Feb. 4, according to a clerk at Hancock County Superior Court. The reason for the continuation is unconfirmed.
During the 47th annual Admiral’s Cup game Sept. 21, Vigue, a Maine Maritime alumnus, fired a small cannon from outside an end zone fence after MMA scored a touchdown. A referee who was walking along the end zone was struck and injured by debris from the blast.
The cannon dislodged black powder with a substance that had been made into a wad, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office said in September.
The referee was transported to a local hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening and the severity of the injuries was not confirmed.
It was tradition for a cannon to be fired after MMA scored a touchdown but the firing of cannons and other similar devices was banned by the academy’s president following the accident.
Vigue began his tenure with Cianbro, one of the country’s largest employee-owned construction companies, as a laborer in 1970. After working his way up, he was named CEO of the company in 2000 and remained in that position until 2018 when he stepped down and was replaced by his son. Vigue has been the chairman of the company’s board of directors since 2008.
If convicted of the aggravated assault charge, Vigue faces up to 10 years in prison.
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